


A New Family

by ChibiBox



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: In hindsight the burn wasn't that slow huh, M/M, Mutual Pining, Porn in Later Chapters, Slow Burn, casual transphobia, reader has an abusive past, reader is trans male, tags will update as the story progresses, this is quickly corrected for the most part
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-01
Updated: 2017-03-12
Packaged: 2018-09-03 15:01:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 51
Words: 33,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8718355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibiBox/pseuds/ChibiBox
Summary: "Hey boss, you'll never guess what we caught!"
---
Under the threat of having your Pokemon taken away, you join Team Skull. It wasn't as if you had anywhere else to go anyway right?
---
Reader has long hair, because that's how I pictured them in my head. Other than that no description is provided. Feel free to ignore the hair length and supply your own.
Reader also has my Pokemon team, since they're the Gen 7 Pokemon I have the most experience with.





	1. Napped!

"Hey boss, you'll never guess what we caught!"

You grunt as you're thrown to the floor. You looked up at the (very rude) Grunt and gave him what you hoped was the dirtiest go to hell look you could pull off. You hadn't intended on returning to Po Town, but unfortunately it didn't seem like you had a choice in the matter.

Not an hour earlier you were enjoying some spicy malasada and chatting with your friend Hau. It had been a relatively good morning, and you'd felt relaxed for the first time since you started your Island Challenge.

After you left, however, things started to go downhill. You were stopped in the road by a couple of goons from Team Skull.

"You'd better turn over your Pokemon now, or we're gonna have to whup ya ass, kapow!" One poorly rhymed at you.

You rolled your eyes, used to their antics by now. You felt sorry for them, honestly. After all they were just teenagers with nowhere to go, nowhere but that shitty little town they "claimed".

Not sorry enough to hand over your Pokemon, however.

"When up against our rhyme and dance, you, my friend, don't stand a chance!" The other rhymed, just as poorly.

"Bro, that was so good."

"Thanks bro, I've been working on that all week."

You brought out a pokeball and threw it. "Decidueye, take care of these jokers."

Your Decidueye appeared in a flash of red light. He turned his head to look at you with the same bored expression as always.

He obviously wasn't impressed.

"I know I know but I have to get to the marina and they're in my way."

Your Decidueye huffed, but turned towards the grunts, ready for a battle.

"Think you can take us, huh?" The first grunt took a step forward and brought out a pokeball. "Salandit, teach this fool a lesson."

A Salandit popped out of the ball, scuttling around excitedly. 

You took care of it easily, your Decidueye taking it out in one hit with Spirit Shackle.

"Wow, a new record time." You say, bringing Decidueye back into your pokeball. Maybe you were being rude, but hey, they started it. "Alright, you lost, pay up."

The grunt grumbled and reached into his pocket, but stopped and looked up at you. "You know what, no. I don't think I will."

You narrowed your eyes. "Excuse me? It's the rules. You lose, you pay."

"Team Skull doesn't play by any rules, girly. And I'm getting tired of you interfering in our business."

You were about to correct him, snap about how he shouldn't assume you were a girl, when he rushed and grabbed you, throwing you over his shoulder.

"Hey, what the fuck? Put me the hell down!" You pounded on his back with your fists, to no avail. 

"Knock that shit off." He shook you a little and started walking, clearly pleased with himself over capturing you, but irritated that you had the gall to try and defend yourself.

His pal followed you the whole way, making childish faces at you the entire time.

\---

Now here you were, laying on the boss's floor, where you were carelessly thrown.

You look up and there he was. The boss, the big man himself.

Guzma looked down at you with an amused expression. "Didn't expect to see you back here again. Ya miss me?"


	2. A Proposition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're given a not-so-difficult choice.

Truth be told you didn't hate Guzma. Sure he was crude, but you didn't hate him. You just hated that he and his grunts steal Pokemon.

But you guessed you understood, to an extent.

When you have nothing you do crazy things to survive.

"We were tryin to steal her Pokemon, boss, but she beat us. So we decided to bring her to you."

"Y'did huh?" Guzma walked over to you, practically looming. With as tall as he was it was almost scary to be on the floor, so you shakily stood, determined not to show how unnerved you were.

"Your boys didn't pay me."

Guzma flashed them a look. "Didn't I teach you better than that. Pay her. She beat you fair and square."

"He."

"What?"

"I'm a guy."

You felt kind of weird telling this to the people who had technically abducted you, but you were tired of female pronouns being thrown around.

Guzma blinked at you, then shrugged, turning back to the grunts. "Pay him. We're crooks but we accept defeat with dignity."

You take the money from the grunt, and you must've had a surprised look on your face because Guzma barked out a short laugh.

"What's wrong? Team Skull consists of people with nowhere else to go. You don't think some of us are LGBT?"

"Now," he continued. "Back to the biz. You've been messin with my boys."

"Technically they messed with me first."

"Point is, you don't talk back to Team Skull and get away with it. You hand over your Pokemon quietly and get out of the fuckin way."

One of the grunts holds up your bag and tosses it to Guzma, who catches it. "All his Pokemon are in there, boss."

"No please!" You reach for your bag, which is quickly snatched out of your reach. Damn his long legs. "You can't take my Pokemon, they're all I have!"

"You got a family doncha?" Guzma looks you up and down, really taking you in for the first time. You shifted a bit, very self aware of your ripped jeans and stained shirt. "Just get some new Pokemon, it's no biggie."

No biggie, he says. He wouldn't be so dismissive if it was his Golisopod being threatened.

"No I don't have a family, so thanks for bringing that up. Secondly, these are my Pokemon. My friends. I'll do anything else, just give me back my Pokemon!"

You felt tears forming in your eyes. Truth is you didn't come to Alola by normal means. Your "family" was awful, treated you like garbage over a pronoun. So eventually, you left. You gathered up what little money you had and stowed away on a boat, determined to make a fresh start wherever it took you. 

Where it took you was a group of islands that were more than you could ever hope for. Okay so maybe you'd hoped for a little more. You didn't have enough money for a house and spent most of your nights sleeping on the ground. Your Pokemon were all you had.

But it was so beautiful. And the Pokemon here were so different. You felt like if you'd had a little more luck financially, you'd truly have found paradise here.

"No family? No home?" Guzma snapped you out of your thoughts.

You said nothing, not really feeling like bearing your soul to the guy who had your Pokemon hostage.

Guzma seemed to think of a minute, before he grinned.

"Anything else huh? Alright."

You lamented your big mouth and dreaded whatever it was he was going to make you do.

"Can you cook?"

Your head snapped up to look at him. What? What kind of question is that.

"Um...yeah, I'm a decent cook?"

"Alright then it's settled. You'll start first thing in the morning."

You glanced at the grunts, hoping they could provide some insight as to what was going on. But they just shrugged. You looked back at Guzma.

"Start what?"

His grin only seemed to stretch wider. "Start working for Team Skull."

He gestured around. "Place doesn't seem very clean does it? Not a very nice place to live, huh? That's where you come in. I know you don't like the whole stealing Pokemon thing, so this is how it's gonna go."

He drops the bag in front of you and heads back over to his chair.

"You cook, you clean, and you do guard shifts around Po Town. I've seen your team, you're a strong trainer. In return, you can keep your Pokemon and we'll provide you with a bed and a roof. Pretty sweet deal, in my opinion."

You mulled it over. You were heavily outnumbered and they could easily snatch your bag again.

You'd lose your only family.

Or you could stay here. It wasn't just you on the line here. Your Pokemon also suffer from hunger. And the alternative is them being sold to just whoever.

It didn't take you long to make a decision. You sighed and picked up your bag.

"I'll do it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to give me feedback, I need to know what I can improve on


	3. Settling In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get a look at where you'll be living.

You were given the choice between a room with girls or a room with boys. You appreciated that. Not everybody was comfortable in a room full of men they didn't know and, truth be told, neither were you. You knew some of the people here were LGBT but past experiences prevented you from fully trusting them yet.

You decided to sleep with the girls.

You entered the room and looked around. It wasn't much but everyone had their own individual beds. Really even if you'd had to sleep with someone else: a bed. When was the last time you slept on a bed?

A girl provided you with your new uniform and a small, cheap microwave meal. Ah, so this is why they wanted a cook.

You sat on the bed and ate, thinking about what was to become of you now that you were technically a Team Skull member. What would Hau say? What would Kukui say?

You finished your pitiful meal and set the plastic plate on the floor, resolving to clean it up in the morning.

Nobody else was in the room so you decided to change into your new outfit. They let you chose which uniform you wanted and you ended up choosing pants since it apparently rained 24/7 in Po Town.

You striped off your gross shirt and ripped pants and tossed them aside. You wondered if you should get rid of them..you resolved to deal with that later as well. You pulled off your binder and took a deep breath, stretching your arms. That felt much better. You rubbed your chest a bit to make sure circulation was going and then put it back on. You could wash it later, you were not leaving the room without it.

You put on your new skull tank, pants and shoes, feeling a sort of bitter gratefulness for the clean clothing. Yes you were sort of..forced into this. But it could be a lot worse.

You turned towards the door and headed back out into the lobby.

\---

"Lookin sharp, new recruit." Guzma grinned at you from the stairs, clearly pleased that he'd managed to turn a previous nuisance into an ally.

You didn't know what to say. What could you say in this situation? Thank you? You weren't sure if you should thank him or not. You were conflicted between two decisions: fuck you for threatening my pokemon or thank you for providing me with housing.

Guzma's grin dropped a little at your lack of answer, but then he shrugged. "You'll get used to it here. And hey, you get the first day off. I did say you could start tomorrow. Why don't you take this time to get to know the people here."

You wanted to say "no, thank you, I don't want to get to know any of you" but you knew he was right. And deep down you knew the people here weren't necessarily awful. They were just people forced to do awful things. You needed friends if you were going to be at least somewhat comfortable here. So you nodded and started heading for the door.

Time to meet your new "family".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't stop writing, this is really fun


	4. Welcome to Team Skull

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You wonder if you'll ever truly be accepted here.

You stepped outside, thankful for the overhang because this rain was awful. Usually you liked rain. It was calming to listen to and was really pretty in your opinion.

But the rain in Po Town was a depressing, foggy, unending torrent. You wondered why they chose here of all places to settle in.

You looked around the courtyard and realized you were being watched. Every grunt on duty was either blatantly staring at you or giving you the suspicious side eye. Alright so you weren't exactly welcome here yet. Well it wasn't as if you were completely happy with the situation either.  
But how do you talk to an entire community of people who already hate your guts?

Maybe this was a terrible decision.

"Hey! Get back to work, nobody's paying you to gawk!"

You turned towards the voice. Plumeria, the team's admin, had stepped out.

There was just something about her, you couldn't put your finger on it. She just..commanded authority. Every grunt in the courtyard immediately went back to what they were doing, not wanting the wrath of the admin, or worse, Guzma, to fall upon them.

You felt a hand land on your shoulder.

"I may not be too fond of you and I may not think you're completely trustworthy, but if Guz thinks it's necessary to recruit you, I'll give you a chance." 

Not trustworthy? They were the ones who dragged you here! You thought about bringing that up but decided for now it was wise to play nice. If she could make an effort, so could you.

"Thank you, Plumeria."

\---

You took a walk around the courtyard, looking in places you hadn't had time to the last time you were here.

There were more people here than you originally thought, which made you feel even more ostracized and trapped.

"Hey uh..(y/n), right?"

You jumped a little and turned around, coming face to face with the same grunts who abducted you. You narrowed your eyes, appalled that they'd show their faces again after what they did.

"Hey hey, chillax bro, we ain't here to start a fight."

"Then why are you here?" You snapped. They were testing your patience, which was honestly short to begin with.

"We came to apologize."

"...huh?" You blinked in surprise. You hadn't expected that.

The other grunt spoke up. "We didn't know you was homeless, cuz."

"Yeah we thought you were just a normal punk, we didn't know you didn't have much."

"We didn't know you was trans either, so.. Sorry for bein so insensitive."

The first grunt stepped forward and reached out to shake your hand. "I'm Jackson. And my boyfriend here is Damian."

You reached forward and took his hand without a second thought. You understood. You knew that sometimes to eat you had to deal in..unsavory business. And they had apologized. Which didn't completely make up for it but..it was a good start.

He grinned at you, happy with your sign of trust. "We know what it's like to be seen as somethin your not. Maybe not in the same way you do, but we get it to an extent. We shouldn't have assumed anything."

It was nice to have somebody who actually owned up to something like this. Living here was going to be far from perfect. But you thought you could stand it a little more knowing not everybody was going to treat you like garbage.

"Thank you. It means a lot for you to step forward like this."

Damian grinned and put his arm around Jackson. "We're not as bad as we like people to think we are. Welcome to Team Skull, cuz."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I chose the grunts names on a whim, if you'd like to imagine them with different names, feel free!


	5. Opening Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Guzma have a small heart to heart.

Jackson introduced you to the rest of their crew, managing to get a few to open up and talk to you. The rest were still suspicious but within time you were sure you could change their mind. 

Especially if you were replacing their shitty microwave meals with actual food.

It was quite a tight knit community. Everybody knew everybody, everybody supported each other.

Almost like siblings, you thought. Perhaps that was why some were so cagey. You weren't part of their family yet, not really.

"Alright I think that's everybody. Well, except the ones on missions but we can find them later."

You smiled, happy to have at least made a couple of acquaintances here. "Thank you, Jackson."

"Ah, it was no problem." He grinned at you, and then froze, looking past you towards the mansion.

You looked over and, lo and behold, Guzma had stepped outside his..throne room? Bedroom?

"Jackson what the fuck are you doin man?" He called from the roof. "You got a job to do, so go do it!"

"Uh..yeah, sure thing boss!" Jackson gave you an apologetic look before sprinting off back towards his post.

You turned to walk towards him when he bent down.

And jumped off the roof.

You screamed, rushing forward in panic to..you didn't quite know what you intended to do. Catch him? He was like 3,000 feet tall and built like a brick shit house.

You stopped short and gawked at him when he landed on his feet.

He burst into laughter. "What, were you gonna try and catch me? I'd have squashed you flat!"

You scowled and turn away, feeling foolish. "For Palkia's sake, don't do shit like that!"

"Heh, what were you worried?"

"Not exactly, but if you parkour yourself into hell who's gonna stop the rest of your gang from skinning me alive?"

He hummed at that, then headed towards the door. "Come on inside, you're fuckin soaked."

\---

"We don't really have any kind of heat source but at least we're out of the rain." Guzma went over to the steps and sat, squeezing some of the water out of his hair and onto the floor carelessly.

You sighed and walked over, sitting next to him. "It's alright, I'll get my Incineroar to dry me off later."

Guzma grunted and leaned back a bit, staring up at the ceiling. 

"You this friendly with all the new recruits?"

Guzma snapped his head to look at you. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"I didn't mean..I wasn't trying to be rude." You sighed again and dragged a hand down your face. "You haven't exactly been the nicest guy to me before."

Guzma looked back at the ceiling, grumbling a little to himself.

You were about to get up and leave when he finally answered. "You weren't exactly part of the family before."

You looked at him again, searching his face for any trace of sarcasm. But he looked the most vulnerable you'd ever seen him. "You're serious."

"Of course I fucking am." He snapped at you again, but took a deep breath afterwards and sighed. "I'm an asshole but I'm not a monster. I know what it's like to be homeless. What it's like when your only option is to go back to a home with family that treats you like dirt."

"I don't even have that option.."

He hummed again. "Figured. You're definitely not Alolan. Got a different accent..What was it you swore by earlier, Palkia?"

You nodded. "I'm from Sinnoh. Palkia is one of our creators."

"And so what, you ran away? Bought a ticket and got the hell out?"

"Something like that. I didn't even buy, didn't have the cash. I stowed away with the cargo. I'm never going back, wouldn't even if I had the money."

Guzma looked at you again, taking in your glum expression, and then he stood. He held out his hand.

You looked up at him in confusion. "What.."

"Come on," he said. "I think I know just what you need right now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always been a huge fan of Sinnoh..
> 
> Also big bad Guzma may still have some anger issues, but he's not as bad to people in his crew


	6. What Family Means

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your first night ends on a not so bad note.

"Holy shit, this tastes amazing.."

What Guzma thought you needed, it seemed, was a warm cup of something called "Tapu Cocoa". And shit, he was right.

"Told ya," he said, sipping his own drink. "I come here when I'm feelin extra shitty."

The barista had even given you a free pastry. You munched on your..what was it? Shalour Sable? Whatever it was it was delicious.

Guzma just grinned at you, apparently sure he was winning you over.

Not quite, bub. But he was getting there..

"I'm sorry if what I said earlier pissed you off. I guess I just..never really thought of you guys as an actual family." You put down your cup and sighed. "But everyone I met today was so...close to everyone. So supportive."

He snorted. "Well they all have one thing in common: any family they had previously was shit. Family doesn't have to be by blood, family is the peeps who actually give a shit about you."

You thought about that for a moment. You thought of Hau, who you'd come to consider a brother of sorts. You thought of Kukui and Burnet, who'd been more caring than either of your real parents. You thought of your Pokemon, who stayed by you even when the going got rough.

You smiled and took another sip. "Yeah I guess you're right."

\---

The girls in your room marveled over your Incineroar. Who, by the way, was simply eating up all the attention. He put off enough heat to warm the whole room, much to everyone's delight.

"He's so cute, holy shit." One girl, Telly, said as she pet him. Your Incineroar gave you a look that said "why don't you give me this much attention?"

Which you did, of course. You paid equal amounts of attention to all your Pokemon.

"Don't give me that look." You flopped down on your new bed, thankful for the minimal comfort it brought. It wasn't the best bed in the world. But it wasn't the ground either.

"I should get an Incineroar, he's just so cool."

Your Incineroar frowned and you snickered, knowing he didn't like the thought of another giant cat taking his place.

"Watch out, Telly," you said between your laughter. "You'll make him jealous."

Incineroar huffed and turned away, refusing to look at you. Telly pet him some more and giggled a little herself. "Don't worry Incineroar, no other Pokemon could come close to how cool you are."

He seemed satisfied with that, at least.

You turned over and snuggled up under the thin blanket. It was a bit early but you weren't sure what time you would be put to work tomorrow.

The last thing you think about before you drift off to sleep is how good that Tapu Cocoa was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this chapter might be kind of short and I'm S orry


	7. First Day on the Job

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get formally introduced to the kitchen

"Hey newbie, time to wakey wakey!"

You flinched as somebody rudely shook you, sitting straight up and knocking heads with them. 

"Fuck!" You clutched your head and winced. That certainly hurt.

"Ow, fuck, watch what you're fuckin doin!" You look up to see one of the other girls similarly clutching her head. You didn't remember her name.

"Shit sorry, uh.."

"Casey." She tied her bandanna around her mouth and jerked her thumb at the door. "Boss wants ya, so get dressed."

You sighed and nodded, still rubbing your head. You got up and stretched, then glanced at her. "Could you uh..turn around."

She nodded and turned. It wasn't that you were ashamed of your body by any means. It was just..your breasts. You didn't want anyone else to see you with them. It was the only part that you felt self conscious about.

You quickly put on your binder and the rest of your clothes, then headed towards the door. Casey followed you out and pointed towards a room. "He's in there. It's kind of our makeshift kitchen."

You nodded and thanked her, heading towards the room.

\---

Guzma opened the door when you knocked and stepped aside. "Alright this is how this is gonna work."

You stepped in and looked around. There was a microwave, a coffee maker, and a convection oven. There were also a few boxes labeled "food bullshit." You were sure these were stolen.

"We got all this shit and none of us know a damn thing about cooking. Last time one of us tried we had to move the kitchen to another room."

You didn't even want to know what happened, honestly.

"So you're in charge of all meals. And you'd better actually know how to cook. I don't want another fire."

Okay so that's what happened.

You go over to one of the boxes and open it up. Most of the ingredients in here didn't match any of the rest. What were you supposed to make with roasted seaweed and taco shells?

"Alright I'm leaving it to you." Guzma waved lazily and strode out of the room, leaving you to wonder what you were going to make.

You open up another box and grin. This could work.

\---

"What is this?" 

You watched as Guzma poked the food with his fork, obviously wary.

"It's meatloaf and roasted chesto berries."

"For breakfast?"

You shrugged at him. "You don't really have a lot of options to chose from. I'd have made a breakfast dish if we had the ingredients for one."

Guzma cut a small piece with his fork and popped it in his mouth. His eyebrows shot up for a fraction of a second in surprise. You almost didn't catch it. You forced yourself not to grin in pride.

"It's alright. Bring some of this to everybody."

You nod and head back to the kitchen, mentally pumping your fist in victory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What meat was used the for meatloaf you ask
> 
> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ I answer


	8. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angst

You had to make three more dishes of meatloaf before everyone in the community was satisfied. You were proud of yourself honestly. You helped feed an entire group of people.

People started opening up to you a little. Most were still reserved but you were happy just to be thanked for the meal. And happy to have your stomach truly full for the first time in months.

Even Guzma had to admit, eventually, he was pleasantly surprised.

"Now comes your second job here." He led you to small closet. "Cleaning supplies are in there. I don't expect you to have it all done today, I know there's too much. But I do expect some sort of improvement."

You nodded. You could do that. You watched him leave and then got your pokeballs out of your bag. He never said you couldn't have help. "Come on out guys."

You threw them and watched as your team appeared. "Alright if we're going to have a roof over our heads we've gotta pull our weight around here!"

Your Decidueye looked just as board as he always did, but you knew he agreed.

Your Incineroar, however, looked extremely put out. "Sorry but if you wanna be able to eat this is what we have to do."

You started handing out jobs. Your Decidueye was to sweep with his massive wings. You could always clean him off later. Your Incineroar was to go into bedrooms and straighten out the beds as orderly as he could. It was hard to walk with 3 beds in front of the door.

You turned to your Araquanid. "Alright girl, you think you could gather up all the bedsheets after Incineroar finishes?" She nodded and blurbed quietly at you, scuttling off to follow Incineroar.

You handed your Lurantis a washcloth. "After Araquanid is done gathering bedsheets I want you and her to clean windows okay." She nodded at you and went to stand off to the side, waiting for her spider friend to return.

"Ribombee can you clean out all the hard to reach nooks and crannies for me?" You ripped off a tiny piece of fabric from a cloth and handed it to her. She saluted you before flying off who knows where.

You sighed and looked at your Gengar...she was going to be a problem. You weren't sure what you could have her do. She was a troublemaker, even if she meant the best. You supposed it would be best if she stuck with you for now.

"How about me and you go clean the bathrooms?" She snickered and followed you, knowing full well you didn't trust her.

\---

Guzma sat up straight in his chair, hearing a crash downstairs. He'd been dozing off(not that any of the crew needed to know that, Plumeria would kill him!) and now he was pissed. What the fuck were you doing down there?

He got up and marched out of his bedroom, heading around the roof and in through the window. He stopped short when he saw a Lurantis and an Araquanid scrubbing windows. They looked at him boredly and then resumed what they were doing.

He stared at them a moment, then heard yet another crash. He ran down the steps and looked around, trying to pinpoint he source. He followed the sounds to a bedroom and opened it up, only to find a massive Incineroar hoisting a bed over his shoulder.

"What the actual fuck, put that down!" The Incineroar looked at him, before shrugging and putting the bed down. Loudly. 

"Aughh!" He ran out of the room to find you, opening up every door until he finally came to a bathroom, where you were scrubbing the floor with your Gengar.

"What the hell is going on here?" You looked up in surprise, flinching when you saw how pissed off Guzma was

"We..we were just cleaning.."

"Your Pokemon are all over the fucking place, that Incineroar is making the whole house shake!"

You just sat there in stunned silence. This is what he told you to do, he never said you couldn't have help.

He glared at you hard for a good 30 seconds, neither one of you moving before he finally spoke up. "Fine whatever, do whatever the fuck you want." He left the room quickly and slammed the door behind him.

You sat there and cried in your Gengar's arms, unsure what you did wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things were going a little too smoothly so..


	9. Quiet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More angst

Guzma avoided you for the rest of the day after that. Plumeria was the one who had to tell you when guard duty was. 

Honestly, after what happened in the bathroom, you preferred it that way.

"The next guard will switch out with you in an hour, don't get distracted and absolutely no leaving your post until you're told."

You nodded, preferring to stay quiet. You always did this. Always went nonverbal after a confrontation like that. It was instinct. You stayed quiet so you didn't piss off anyone else.

Plumeria took pity on you and patted your shoulder. She looked like she was about to say something but then decided against it, instead walking away to leave you alone in the rain.

You took back everything. You hated it here.

\---

Plumeria walked into Guzma's room without knocking, as usual. You get privileges like that when you're the boss man's best friend. "Anything you'd like to talk about?"

Guzma didn't even look up from the paper in front of him, used to her just walking in whenever she wanted. "Nope."

"Not even about why the newbie's scared shitless?"

"...nope."

She rolled her eyes and snatched the paper out of his hand. It was blank. "Everybody in the yard heard you screaming at him."

Guzma didn't say anything, instead deciding that the far wall was much more interesting to look at.

"You look exhausted. Did you even sleep last night?"

"You know I didn't."

She huffed and sat on his bed. "I may not like the new guy very much but you still went too far."

"I know."

She looked at him again, studying his face. He looked like a wreck. The bags under his eyes were darker than usual, he was pale. He didn't even have the energy to put on that trademark smirk. He looked ready to pass out. "I'm worried about you, Guz."

"I know."

She got up and took his hand. "C'mere."

He got up silently and let her lead him to the bed, sitting down when he was told. "Get some sleep you fucking dumbass."

He sighed and laid down, running his hand over his forehead. He didn't have the energy to argue. It was rare that Plumeria didn't scold him for sleeping on duty but he needed it.

"I'll talk to (y/n) for you."

He nodded, already drifting off. "Thanks, Plumes.."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plumeria is probably the only person Guzma shows true weakness around


	10. Conflicted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You have a lot to think about

It was actually an hour and a half before the next grunt came to switch places with you. You were soaking wet and miserable. You trudged your way back to the mansion, wondering what you did to deserve something like this. 

Plumeria met you at the door. "I need to talk to you."

You nodded, not really feeling up to actually speaking yet. You followed her inside and stood there, waiting for her to speak.

Eventually she seemed to find the words she was looking for. "He didn't mean to do that."

You nodded again. This was exactly how you expected this to go honestly. Guzma's not a bad guy, Guzma does this for this reason so you have to forgive him. You weren't planning on forgiving him easily.

"That doesn't excuse what he did."

You look up at her in surprise, not expecting her to agree with you.

"Look I'm not going to sit here and pretend he's perfect just because he's my best friend. He shouldn't have done that and he knows it." She looked at you then, with softer eyes. Perhaps she's been where you are, hurt under Guzma's anger. "I at least want you to understand that he has awful bouts of insomnia. Exhaustion hit him hard today. That's not an excuse, it's an explanation."

She put her hand on your shoulder again, squeezing slightly. "I'm still not used to you. I still don't completely trust you. But I'm not heartless. You can talk to me."

She started to head back up the stairs, waving her hand at you as she left. "Give him time, he'll apologize in his own weird way."

You watched her disappear up the steps and then sat down on the floor, feeling more conflicted than ever.

\---

You stood in the kitchen with your Incineroar, hoping the heat from him and the oven would dry you quicker.

You looked up when you heard him huff. You smile gently. "No we can't kill him."

Incineroar growled a bit at that, looking towards the wall. He was smug and lazy but he did care about you. And he wanted back at Guzma for making you cry.

"Like it or not this is where we live now. And it's not as bad as..other places I've lived." Incineroar huffed again, softer this time. He understood. He just didn't like it.

"I'm not happy with him either you know..and I haven't forgiven him. He's going to have to make up for it." You checked the oven, making sure the food wasn't being burned. The faulty wiring in this thing made it hard to judge if the temperature was too high.

You felt arms wrap around you and knew your big cat was trying to make you feel better. "Thanks."

You stood in silence like that until the food was done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Incineroar #1 supportive brother


	11. Roommates and a Bug

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You go to bed, only to be woken up unexpectedly early the next morning

You dragged yourself back into your room that night, exhausted from a day of hard work. 

"Hey did you arrange our beds like this?"

You winced, unsure if the girls were going to be mad with you. "Uh, yeah I...I got my Incineroar to do it."

Casey looked at you for a moment and then grinned. "Hey thanks! It was seriously hard to walk around in here."

You smiled a bit, relieved. At least your roommates appreciate you.

"Speaking of Incineroar," Telly piped up. "You think we can have him in here again? That was the best sleep I've had in a while, it was so warm."

"Sure." You said, taking out your pokeball and throwing it. Your Incineroar popped out with his paws on his hips, apparently offended you disturbed him.

You snickered. "Sorry bud they just can't get enough of you."

His gaze softened at that and looked at the others, flattered they liked him so much.

You flopped back onto your bed and sighed. Your muscles ached from cleaning and standing all day. You deserved a good rest.

"So how was your first day on the job?" Casey asked, reaching over to pet Incineroar.

You frowned a bit and shrugged. "It was alright I guess."

Telly sat down on her own bed. "Everyone's just getting used to you. They'll open up soon enough."

"I think he's upset because of Guzma."

All eyes fell on your third roommate, who until now had been adamant on not speaking to you.

"Why?" Telly had been on a theft run, you recall. Of course she wouldn't know. "What did Guzma do?"

Incineroar growled lowly and flicked his ear, upset that this was being brought up.

The third roommate shrugged. "He was yellin at him, I heard. You must've really pissed him off."

You shot her a look, just to have her shrug at you again. "He was mad Incineroar was being loud, I think."

Telly shifted uncomfortably, clearly feeling foolish for stepping on a tender subject. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, you didn't know."

Casey flopped down on her own bed. "Alright let's drop the subject and sleep, we gotta be up early."

You all agreed and settled in for the night.

\---

The next morning you opened your eyes to see Golisopod looming over you. 

You shrieked and fell off the bed, not expecting a giant water bug to be a few inches from your face.

He clicked at you in amusement, while the sounds of your roommates were a lot less happy.

Casey glanced over and then put her face back in her pillow. "Podsy what the fuck it's too early for this.."

"Podsy" nudged you gently, apparently wanting you to follow him. You sighed and sat up. "Okay okay, I'm up." 

You stood and started getting dressed. You tied your hair back in a lazy bun instead of brushing it and looked at the Golisopod. "Lead the way I guess."

\---

Podsy ended up leading you to Guzma's room, which didn't surprise you. You wondered if he was going to apologize or punish you.

You knocked and waited, Podsy looming over you. No way to back out now you supposed.

"Door's open." Oh boy. He sounded rough.

You entered and looked around, noticing a few more dents in the wall since last time.

Guzma looked up at you from his chair, blinking tiredly. You shifted awkwardly under his gaze, unsure what it was he wanted from you. 

He sighed and stood up. "Battle me."

"...what?"

He scoffed and walked towards you. "I said battle me, newbie. Let's make sure you're really Team Skull material."

"You don't look in any condition to fight."

"Maybe not, but Podsy's good to go." The Golisopod walked over to his trainer and clicked affectionately.

You scowled. This wasn't how you'd expected this to go at all. "What do you think you can just battle me and we have a good time and everything's forgiven?"

He looked taken aback by this, obviously shocked that you caught on. You weren't that naive. "Well, I-"

"It's going to take more than a battle and some laughs to make up for what you did." You suddenly felt brave. You didn't want to keep putting up with people stepping on you. The more you put up with it the more it would happen.

"I know that."

You blinked. Oh. Well. At least he knew, right?

"I thought..this just might be a good start to trying to make up for it." It was his turn to shift uncomfortably, obviously not used to having to apologize for his actions. He didn't usually pop off at his own crew like that.

You remember Plumeria telling you he'd apologize in his own weird way, and decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Alright big guy, show me what you got."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not too proud of the chapter title but whatev


	12. The Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You battle ya boi

Guzma was a lot tougher to beat this time around. 

His Golisopod had apparently learned a few new moves since you last battled and was currently giving your Incineroar a run for his money.

"Incineroar, fire fang!"

"Podsy, use waterfall!"

Maybe you shouldn't have picked Incineroar to go first, because it was obvious he was going to be KO'd within the first 10 minutes.

Guzma grinned at you, pleased he had the upper hand. You watched as Podsy made a final attack on Incineroar and wiped him out.

"Fuck, return." You retracted your Incineroar and scowled, sending out Lurantis instead.

"Eh, not even a bug type." Guzma mumbled offhandedly. "Looks like a bug though, six out of ten.."

You don't know why but something about the comment made you double over in laughter.

Guzma raised his hands incredulously. "What? What's so funny?"

You put a hand over your mouth and looked at him. "You. I don't know why that was so funny, are you rating my Pokemon based on bugginess?"

He cracked a smile. "Well it's a known fact that bug Pokemon are the best."

You straightened up and wiped your eyes. You really needed that. "Yeah I guess so, huh..Lurantis, Leaf Blade."

Your Lurantis dashed forward, ready to strike. Guzma jumped. "Fuck, not even a warning? Podsy dodge it and hit it with Brick Break!"

Podsy leapt out of the way quickly and jumped behind Lurantis, knocking her into the far wall.

Lurantis stood up off the floor weakly, glancing at you, letting you know she wasn't about to give up. You nod to her. "Petal Blizzard."

She raised her arms and sent forth a barrage of petals and Podsy, who couldn't quite manage to make it out of the way, was violently sliced by the magic plants.

"Fuck, Podsy return." Guzma brought the Golisopod back into his pokeball and threw out another. "Webster!"

An Ariados flew out, ready to attack, and you called back your Lurantis. "Araquanid go!"

"Fuckin beautiful." You heard him mumble from across the room. "A good spider, ten outta ten."

You honestly couldn't believe this guy sometimes.

\---

The battle dragged on for what seemed like an hour at least, but finally you were victorious. Even though he knocked out 5 of your Pokemon.

Surprisingly it was your Ribombee that finished the battle. You smile at her and give her a gentle scratch under the chin, causing her to chirp at you in appreciation.

Guzma walked over and gave you a rough pat on the back. "Nice job, newbie, you put up one hell of a fight!"

He wasn't mad he lost? That was a first.

He gave your Ribombee a little scratch on the head and grinned. "And you're a tough lil son of a bitch, aintcha?" Ribombee chirped again and raised its head proudly.

He chuckled. "So what's her name?"

"Ribombee."

"What, you didn't name her?" 

You glanced aside and chewed your lip, feeling a bit silly you didn't think to do that. "No.."

Guzma shrugged. "Well you should consider it. Gets kind of repetitive to call them all the same thing."

He walked towards the door and opened it for you. "Now let's go get your team healed up."

You both left the room, the atmosphere between you lighter than before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pokemon will eventually all be named. Again the team is based on my own so they will have the same names as mine


	13. Forgiveness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guzma takes you for another Tapu Cocoa

After your team was healed he bought you another cup of Tapu Cocoa. You were getting the feeling this was going to become a regular thing. 

"Look about yesterday-"

"Plumeria explained. I get it."

He looked at you in surprise, and then smiled slightly.

"That doesn't excuse what you did."

The smile dropped and he looked down at his cup. He almost looked like a kicked Poochyena and you'd have felt sorry for him if he hadn't yelled at you.

"Fuck, I know that." He took a sip of his cocoa and rubbed his face. He looked so...tired. You wondered why he couldn't sleep. "I'm really..I mean I'm.."

"Spit it out."

His face scrunched up in anger and he squeezed the counter until his knuckles turned white, then he let out a breath and forced himself to relax. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you."

He looked at you incredulously. "What that's it? I'm forgiven?"

"Yeah, you apologized." You sat your cup down. "That doesn't mean I'm going to put up with it if it happens again but I appreciate that you realize what you did wrong."

He stared at you for a minute, thinking, searching your face. Then he came to a conclusion. "You're fuckin weird."

You snort and take another sip. "You're one to talk."

"Dude have you looked at me lately, I'm not weird. I'm the coolest dude around."

"It's really cool that you play with bugs, Guzma."

He treated you nicely for the rest of the day, still apparently trying to make up for being a complete douchenozzle.

\---

A week passed and you were settling in nicely, in all honesty. One by one the grunts here had opened up to you, seeming to accept you as one of their own. Even Plumeria was starting to talk to you more.

Guzma, however, looked like he had been run over by several Tauros. He obviously wasn't sleeping and he barely left his room. You figured he didn't want to look weak in front of the grunts.

When he did leave his room he looked like a nightmare. He'd shamble to the bathroom and then back again, tripping up the stairs as he went. You had to get Plumeria to bring his food up to him and even then you weren't sure if he was eating it.

It was beginning to worry you. A lot.

You waved to the grunt at the window as you walked along the roof, stepping in through the window to check on him. You knocked on his door.

No answer.

You waited a few minutes before quietly opening the door and slipping inside. "Guzma?"

There he was alright. Asleep, sitting up in his chair. You sighed and walked over. Should you leave him like this?

No, you thought. He already had back problems, if his posture told you anything. You looped your arm around his back and tried to hoist him up. And failed. This guy was huge.

He blinked a couple times and looked tiredly at you. "(Y/n?)"

"Come on, get up, you can't sleep here." You helped him up and started to walk him over to the bed, stopping every time he stumbled so he could regain his balance. Seriously what did his parents feed him, steroids? You could barely hang onto the guy.

He finally flopped onto the bed and glanced at you, then dragged a hand down his face. He was absolutely exhausted.

"Go to sleep you dingus." But it was too late, he'd already passed out again. You covered him up and lifted his head up, pushing the pillow underneath. His hair was surprisingly soft and clean.

You stared at him for a moment, admiring how peaceful he looked. Then you headed to the door and left the room quietly, not wanting to wake him again. 

That night when you went to bed, your last thoughts were about his soft hair and how warm he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next few chapters after this will focus less on Guzma and more on other relations within Team Skull


	14. Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You spend some time with your fellow grunts and their stotic mom

"Now move your hips like this!"

Damian moved his hips to the side and made wild gestures with his hands, which you were trying to follow with absolutely no luck.

You moved your hips as well and tried to copy his movements. "Like this?"

"No no! There ain't enough sass in those hips!"

Jackson snickered from the sidelines, content to watch. They'd both become close friends with you over the last few weeks and any tension that might've been between you quickly dissipated.

You spent a lot of time with these two now. You tried teaching them how to cook, battled them a little. And in return they were teaching you how to dance.

Easier said than done.

"Try popping your hip more sharply, (y/n)!"

Try? You were trying! But with your feet a mile apart from each other it wasn't as easy as they seemed to think it was.

"Like..like this?" You popped your hips to the side, smiling in triumph.

And then slipped and fell to the ground.

Jackson winced and walked over, offering you a hand. You huffed and took it, shoulders hunched at the feeling of cold mud sliding down your back as you stood up.

Damian laughed as he started to scrape it off of you. "That last one wasn't bad until you fell!"

"I told you guys I can't dance.."

"All good things come to those who wait, practice makes perfect, etcetera." Damian shook his hands off. "I got most of it but your clothes are going to need a wash."

"Thanks, Damian."

You all looked up as you heard a whistle blow from the mansion. Break time was over and you all put your bandanas back on.

Jackson took Damian's hand and waved to you. "See ya, bro. We'll continue this dance lesson tomorrow, don't forget!"

"I won't, see you guys later." You waved back and started for the mansion door. You'd go to tomorrow's dance lesson alright, but you weren't sure that you'd improve at all.

\---

To your surprise, Plumeria was waiting for you in the kitchen. You stopped at the doorway and stared at her for a moment, and then reached into your bag to bring out your Incineroar.

"Teach me."

You looked up at her again. "Excuse me?"

She glanced at the oven and then back to you. Oh. She wanted you to teach her how to cook.

"Oh uh..sure, I can do that! Just let me get out Ahi."

"Ahi?"

You felt your cheeks heat up a little and brought out the pokeball. "Guzma mentioned that I should probably...name my Pokemon. Honestly I hadn't really thought about it until now.."

She grunted and turned back to the oven, seemingly studying the dials. You let out your Incineroar and patted him on the head, appreciative of his warmth.

"Did you..did you have anything in particular you wanted to cook?"

She glanced at you and kicked an open, dirty cookbook in your direction. It was amazing it was still useable, it looked like it'd been dropped in a trash compactor.

It was open to a recipe for lasagna. Simple enough. You picked it up and smiled. "I think this is doable."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These characters are really fun to write


	15. Cooking Lesson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Plumeria spend a little time together

Plumeria, it turned out, was awful at cooking. And you had a sneaking suspicion she was the reason the last kitchen burned down.

She set the oven two hundred degrees higher than necessary, claiming that obviously the higher the temperature was the faster it would cook. You had to argue with her for 10 minutes before she finally let you turn the oven down.

You gave her what you thought was an easy job, spreading the cheese and sauce between the noodles. What actually ended up happening was she put one layer of noodles at the bottom and poured the entirety of the sauce and cheese in the middle of the dish.

You decided from then on she was going to have to watch to learn.

You ended up throwing that batch out and starting a new one by yourself, explaining the process to Plumeria as you went. "And then you just pop it in the oven for however long the recipe calls for."

"This is stupid."

You look at her again, only to find her staring at the wall, obviously very frustrated that she didn't understand.

"You know you don't have to do this right?" You closed the oven and leaned against the wall.

"I know that." She turned away from you, arms crossed. You found it oddly cute in a way, like a child that didn't get the outcome they wanted.

You both stayed silent for a while and you were close to nodding off when she spoke up again. "I want to."

"Huh?"

"I want to do this. It seems so simple and I'm so bad at it." She looked at the oven again, glaring as if cursing the meal inside. "Why can't I do something so simple?"

"Have you ever actually practiced?"

She blinked at you in surprise, as if she hadn't thought of that. "Well, no. I'm an admin, I have more important jobs to be doing."

You smiled at her. "Well there's your problem. You can't just get something right away, even cooking takes practice."

You open the oven to check on the food, pleased to see it was coming along nicely. "Why don't you pop in like this every now and again? I'd be happy to give you lessons."

She glanced at the lasagna, looking it over for any signs of flaw. She didn't seem to find any.

"I might take you up on that."

\---

Plumeria came in to watch you cook later that night. And the next morning. And at lunch.

It became a regular thing between you two, teaching her to cook and talking about how your day went. It was nice. It felt like she was finally warming up to you.

"Are you happy here?"

"What?" You looked away from grooming Ahi, who had gotten the fur on his face tangled. He growled at you when you snagged it a bit. "Shit, sorry."

"Are you happy here? Is this...home to you?"

You pondered this for a minute and kept brushing, petting Ahi's head gently. "I suppose so. I have friends here. And you and Guzma aren't as bad as I initially thought." You gave her a teasing smile and to your delight she smirked back at you.

"Even though..you're being forced?"

You sigh and finish grooming, standing up. You thought this might come up. "You guys let me go wherever I want now. If I really wanted to leave don't you think I would've?"

"I guess you're right." You glance at her again.

"Plume, are you-"

"I have work to do." She ruffled your hair on the way out, causing you to huff in protest. "Keep up the good work."

You looked at Ahi, who just shrugged his shoulders and raised his leg to give himself a bath.

"Ahi, not in the kitchen.."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really really enjoy writing Plumeria, I feel like she'd be really cool once you got to know her


	16. Hano Beach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and your friends go scavenging

As the weeks dragged on you were given new jobs. One such job was scavenging for pearls, scales, whatever you could find on the beach. You honestly couldn't believe you hadn't thought of that.

Guzma had assigned Jackson and Damian to go with you, seeing as you trusted them better out of any of the other grunts. He still hadn't forced you into Pokemon theft, much to your surprise.

"Ya just don't have the stomach for that kinda work." Guzma dug into his ear with his pinky, then flicked something away. Gross. "I'm not gonna make ya do something ya obviously aren't up to."

So that was that and you, Jackson, and Damian made your way to Hano Beach by boat.

"While we're there one of us should chuck some Pyukumuku!" Damian said, leaning over the edge of the boat.

"We should do what?"

"Chuck Pyukumuku! It's a great way to get some easy cash, cuz!"

Jackson sat down in one of the chairs, apparently too good to stand with the rest of you. "We don't usually come out to Hano Beach but there's this guy that pays 20,000 Pokedollars for help chucking Pyukumuku back into the sea. So we may as well take advantage of that while we're over here."

"I've never heard about that.." You kind of wish you had. Maybe then your Pokemon wouldn't have had to go hungry so often.

Stop it, you told yourself. Things are better now, stop blaming yourself.

But it was hard not to blame yourself for past actions or...lack of action. If you knew it was that easy to make money you would've. Maybe then you wouldn't have had to go hungry. Maybe you could've afforded a hotel room. Maybe you could've-

"Alola to (y/n)?" You blinked and realized Damian was waving a hand in front of your face. "We're here, cuz."

"Oh, uh.." You looked around, trying to get your bearings. You felt your cheeks heat up as you realized you'd been spacing out. "I knew that."

Jackson snickered and led you both off the boat. It was time to go scavenging.

\---

You discovered one of what you thought were the cutest Pokemon to ever exist. Jackson and Damian had more experience with scavenging so they left the Pyukumuku chucking to you.

And you loved it.

You grinned and scooped one up gently, trying not to startle it. "Hey little guy. You want back in the water?"

The Pyukumuku gave off its strange noise and gave you a thumbs up with its...intestines? You weren't sure but it still managed to be adorable somehow. You giggled and put it back into the sea.

You threw back five more and then concluded that they were all back where they belonged. You were a bit sad to see them go, honestly, and resolved to catch one next time you were here.

You walked back over to the man and smiled. "I put them all back sir!"

"You sure did and so quickly too! Here you are dear, you've earned this." He grinned and handed you the 20,000 Pokedollars.

Your eyes widened and you thanked the man, walking back to sit on the beach. This was more money than you'd seen in months. With this you could...

You glanced back over at Jackson and Damian, who were furiously digging for whatever treasures they could find. They were distracted...maybe you could just...

You shook your head. What were you thinking? These were your friends! Feeling guilty for even having the thought, you got back up and started towards them.

"Hey (y/n)! Look how many pearls we got!" Damian grinned and showed you a handful of pearls, proud that he'd managed to find so many.

Jackson ruffled Damian's hair, messing up his hat in the process. "Damian here found most of em. Proud of ya, babe."

You smiled gently. No. These were your weren't just your friends now. You couldn't just take off. 

This was your family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damian and Jackson are rly gay u guys


	17. Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You discover something about yourself you wish you hadn't

The three of you sold your spoils and made haste back to Po Town, eager to bring the money to Guzma.

"Dude he's gonna be so surprised!"

You laughed and patted Damian on the back. "Settle down there, we all know you're gonna get the spotlight. You did dig up the most pearls."

"Yeah but you made the most money of the three of us! He's gonna be so proud of ya, cuz!"

"Heh..ya think..?" It was a satisfying thought, honestly. Getting praised by Guzma, showing him that you were just as good as any of the other grunts. Showing him you could pull your own weight without stealing.

It was kind of odd how much you found yourself wanting to please him lately. You didn't even really consider him your boss. So why were you suddenly seeking his approval? Was it the longing for an accomplished trainer to acknowledge your strength? Or...

You pushed those thoughts out of your head, deciding not to read into it. After all he was your friend as well, right? In a weird sort of way. You'd want to please any of your friends, right? Right.

You adjusted your bag and stepped off the boat, waiting for Jackson and Damian to follow you. They finally got their shit together and joined you, the three of you making your way to Po Town once more.

\---

"Holy shit, you three got all that?"

Guzma counted the money, eyes wide in apparent awe. Jackson grinned. "Well most of it came from Damian and (y/n)."

"Aw don't beat yourself up, you did a great job too bro!"

"Thanks bro."

Guzma put the money in a box by his chair, where it would be safe. Nobody was allowed in his room without permission and to get there you had to go through countless guards. Honestly this was probably the safest room in Po Town.

Guzma turned to the three of you then and grinned the biggest you'd ever seen him grin. He put his arms around Jackson and Damian's shoulders, giving Damian a little noogie on the side of his head.

"Well fuckin done, you three. We oughta buy some special food to celebrate the haul."

You smiled, glowing a bit from the praise. You examined his face, watching the way the area between his eyes crinkled when he laughed, how genuine his smile was, the way his eyes were lit up, the way-

Oh. Oh no. That's why you wanted to please him. This was bad. This was very very-

You felt his arm sling around your shoulder as well, giving you an affectionate noogie. "And you! You're gettin better and better at the biz everyday. Good job, newbie."

It was too hot. Why was it hot? You needed to get out of there, you had to-

You felt a hand fall on your shoulder. "I think he's tired, why don't you let him go make lunch?" Plumeria peeled Guzma's arm off of you and opened the door.

"Oh yeah sure, go ahead." He walked back to his chair and plopped down, still radiating with pride over his strange family.

You swore you saw Plumeria smirk at you as she led you out.

\---

"Anything you'd like to get off your chest?"

You poked a toothpick through the bread you were making, staying silent. Was she really trying to talk about this?

"Maybe something about Guzma?"

Yep, she was. Still you stayed silent, your cheeks heating up a little. You really didn't want to think about this new discovery.

Plumeria snickered a little, ruffling your hair. "Alright, alright. By the way, why are you poking it?"

You pulled out the toothpick and showed it to her. "See the bread goo on it?"

"Yeah?"

"If it comes out clean that means it's done. This one didn't so that means it's still doughy in the middle."

"Huh." Plumeria looked the bread over. It may have looked done but the toothpick exposed it's trickery. "That's actually pretty clever."

You smile a bit, thankful that the Guzma subject had been dropped. You'd have to come to terms with that later. Alone. Then maybe you could talk to Plume about it.

She ruffled your hair again, heading for the door. "I have to go make my rounds, try not to burn anything without me."

"Thanks mom."

You're absolutely certain you could hear her muffled laughter outside the door. You smiled a bit wider, glad she was letting down her guard, little by little.

You hoped you could do the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually not really proud of this chapter but I guess you have to have your duds


	18. Admitting it to Yourself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *strums guitar gently*...AAAANGST

You laid awake that night, left alone to your thoughts as the others slept, your Incineroar curled up in the middle of the room. You could hear him purring softly, content in his slumber. You'd have to tease him about it later.

As it was it was quiet enough now that you could sort through your...predicament. When had this happened? Just today? A week ago?

You thought back, reflecting on when he apologized over Tapu Cocoa. You didn't know if that was when it started but you knew that was when you started getting closer to him.

It was impossible. Irresponsible? Inappropriate. He was technically your boss, even if he didn't feel like one to you. You couldn't have a crush on..

There it was. The word. You had a crush. You felt your face grow hot as the realization hit you like a brick and settled deep in your gut. Draping an arm over your eyes, you groaned quietly, slightly upset with yourself.

It's just a small crush, you told yourself. Tiny. Insignificant. It would go with time. This changed nothing. You could still joke with him. Laugh with him, go out for Tapu Cocoa..as friends. Only as friends.

Then you thought about his soft white hair, you thought about when you helped him into bed, how sturdy he was. How pretty his smile was and how he snorted when he laughed..that smug expression..his dark eyes..

Oh boy, you thought. This was going to be harder than you thought.

\---

You spent the next few days avoiding Guzma as much as possible. Ducking into the next room when he passed by, putting twice as much effort into your work to distract yourself and have an excuse not to talk to him.

You know he noticed. You saw how annoyed he was getting. But still you tried to avoid him, trying to come to terms with the fact you might be interested in your boss. Even more concerning, your friend. If he found out..

"You got a problem with me or somethin?"

You jumped and turned around, looking up at the tall man. The tall, obviously upset man. Oh dear.

"Wh- no, no sir!"

"Stop with the obedient employee act, you've never called me sir."

You cursed yourself internally, lamenting your inability to lie. "I don't have a problem with you Guzma."

"Then why you been avoidin me?"

You shrugged and resumed sweeping. "I haven't been avoiding you.."

"I'm not stupid, I can tell when somebody hates me."

You looked up at him in surprise. Hate him? Hah! If only he knew. "You think I hate you?"

"Sure, who doesn't? S'not like I'm the best guy right? I'm awful right?" He glared down at you, daring you to say otherwise. You took the dare.

"You're putting words in my mouth and I don't appreciate it."

"Then spit out what your fuckin deal is!"

"It's not you." You lied. It was him. It was all him and fuck you wished it wasn't. "I'm going through something personal alright?"

He looked ready to shout, ready to push this into a fight but instead he just stood there, fists clenched, mouth twitching. Until finally he gave up and marched back upstairs.

That could have gone a lot better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Hey Chib are you ever gonna write anything but angst" shrugs vaguely


	19. Angry and Confused

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guzma doesn't like being in the dark
> 
> Warning for wall punching

Everyone downstairs could hear Guzma up in his room. Nobody was sure what exactly he was doing, but nobody wanted to go find out either. It sounded violent.

Plumeria, on the other hand, wasn't scared of Guzma in the least and as usual had to interfere so he didn't tear the place down.

She waltzed into his room, right over to him, and gave him a good smack across the head. "Cut it the fuck out, Guz, you're scaring the fam."

She looked over at the wall, which had fresh new dents in it, and then at his fist, which also had a few new dents in it. Ouch. That was going to bruise. "You need to calm down."

"I'm fucking fine."

"Sure." She took his hand and he winced, snatching it back from her.

"Watch it."

"See, not fine." She took his unbruised hand and led him to his chair, pushing him down into it. "What the fuck is going on with you?"

Guzma grumbled and examined his hand, then slammed the fist down onto the arm of his chair. "He's been avoiding me for days! He says it's nothing to do with me. But it sure - seems - like - something - to - do - with - me!"

Guzma slammed his fist down with each word, then winced again as the pain bit back at him. It only seemed to make him angrier.

"Who are you even talking about?"

"(Y/n)!"

Plumeria took his hand again, more carefully this time. "Did you ever stop to think that it might not be about you?"

"It's obviously about me."

"Why do you even care?"

He didn't answer for a long minute, moving his fingers upon Plume's request to make sure they weren't broken. Finally he spoke. "I can't have mutiny within my ranks, Plume."

She snorted. "I think you need to get your priorities straight."

"What the fuck did you just-"

"I have a job to do." That's what she always said when she didn't want to finish a conversation.

"Plume, wait-"

"Come talk to me again when you're ready to stop acting like a child", she said as she walked to the door. "And maybe giving him time instead of getting angry would be better for both of you."

And with that she was gone.

Fuck.

\---

You stood out in the rain, shivering, waiting for your guard shift to come to an end. This was the job you hated the most. But it had to be done and you took it in stride, all things considered. Plus it gave you more time to think.

How would you talk to him now? With you so confused about your own feelings and him so pissed off how would you face him? Maybe you should talk to Plume first..

Speak of the devil. You heard the whistle ring out and made your way inside, to find Plumeria in the lobby. You smiled at her.

"Ready for our less-"

"I want to cook today."

Oh. You thought about it. She was very observant and had come a long way since you started teaching her. If she wanted to try by herself you didn't see a problem in it. "Sure and if you need me I'll be right besi-"

"Alone."

You deflated a little. So you were being replaced. She knew how now and could take over. "Oh, okay.."

"Just for today, I want you to go talk to Guzma."

That startled you a little. You'd heard him banging around in his room all day. You knew what kind of mood he was in. "Why would you-"

"Because I hate when my friends fight." Sure Plume that's a perfect reason to throw you under the bus like this!

You tried to bargain with her, tell her you'd just rather help her with the food but she was higher rank than you and adamant on it. So you made your way to Guzma's room and stopped in front of it. Ready or not...

It was time to talk to your boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry the angst is almost over...for now


	20. Making Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After making you cry, Guzma realizes what a fuckin asshole he's being

You knocked on the door, ready to get this over with. Your mind was running a mile a minute, trying desperately to come up with some excuse for avoiding him. But try as you might you just couldn't think of one.

No answer came so you let yourself in, finding him asleep on his bed. Or so you thought. You tried to leave again as quietly as you could, only to have him sit up anyway. Shit.

"(Y/n)."

You knew there was no turning back now, so you re-entered the room quietly, shutting the door behind you. What an awful time to go nonverbal.

He stared at you for a moment, as if unsure what to say himself, before he laid down again and rolled over. What a child..

"If you really hate it here that much you're free to go."

What? Where was he getting this shit from? You could kind of understand him assuming you hated him. After all you'd been kind of cold towards him for a few days. But you thought you'd made it blatantly obvious you had no intentions of leaving.

"So go on if you're gonna." Was he kicking you out? Were you going to be homeless again? You sank to your knees, staying deathly silent.

"I said go on! Get the fuck out of here!" He sat up again quickly and turned towards you, angry expression falling as he took in the tears running down your face. When did you start crying?

"Shit," he whispered, getting off his bed and walking over to you, his hands hesitating around you as if he wasn't sure if he wanted to touch you or not. "Shit, fuck, shit. (Y/n), I didn't mean..."

He eventually decided not to touch you, instead sitting on the floor cross legged in front of you, trying to figure out what to do.

You had to speak, you had to tell him you didn't want to leave, but you just couldn't get the words out. You tried but all you could manage was a soft "Hhh.."

"Don't." He hesitantly reached out again, still unsure of himself. He wasn't used to being the one doing the consoling. "Just..talk when you're ready.."

So there you sat with him, both of you unsure of yourselves and regretting the fight entirely.

What an awful day.

\---

Eventually you managed to speak again. Managed to tell him that you had issues you were working through and that you really didn't hate him.

He obviously wanted to know more but begrudgingly accepted it, knowing if he pushed you again you'd probably break down in tears. You appreciated it, you didn't think you were ready to have that conversation yet.

Everyone noticed an immediate change between the two of you, but nobody commented on it, not wanting to ruin it or face an embarrassed, angry Guzma.

Things seemed back to normal, with maybe a little more this time. You'd both joke around when you had the time and he took you out for Tapu Cocoa every day now.

It was beginning to become your favorite beverage.

But even if things went back to normal, your crush on him still remained and affectionate thoughts would pop up at the most inconvenient of times.

You were on your now daily Tapu Cocoa break with Guzma, laughing, having a pretty good time. Then, without thinking, you reached for his mug instead of your own and your hand brushed his. You let it linger for a split second, before snatching your hand away, red blooming across your face.

He'd just laughed it off and told you to "get your own you fuckin mooch". You laughed with him, hoping you didn't sound like a nervous wreck and thankful that he didn't seem to notice that.

\---

He had indeed noticed that.

And he was, to put it bluntly, really fucking confused. What the fuck had that been about?

He'd kinda felt hurt honestly, did you really hate the thought of touching him that much? But as usual he forced those feelings down and took a sip of his Tapu Cocoa.

He took note of how on edge you suddenly were, once again wondering just how much he disgusted you.

Stop being a shithead, he thought to himself. This isn't about you.

You were talking now. What were you talking about? Oh fuck how much of this conversation did he miss?

"-een to Sinnoh?"

"...huh?"

You snorted a little. Oh Arceus, that was precious. Precious? When did he start using words like that? Gross.

"I asked if you'd ever been to Sinnoh, dummy."

"Oh uh,,nah, can't say I have." He took another sip, hoping the scalding chocolate would distract him from whatever the fuck he was just thinking about. "Never been off Alola actually."

You pursed your lips a bit at that. "Maybe one day Team Skull should take a trip somewhere.."

"Sounds like you miss Sinnoh."

"More than anything.." Oh no, you were sad. Why did you have to be sad? Why'd he have to go and upset you like that, what the fuck Guzma?

"You uh...ever thought about goin back?" Why was he being so invasive? Shut the hell up Guzma.

"No. I miss it but not enough to return." You still looked upset. Of course you did. He was asking personal questions.

He waved the barista over. "'Nother coupla cups."

"What?" You looked at him, almost panicking. "You don't have to do that, I can buy my own-"

"Don't worry about it." He finished off his Cocoa and handed the mug over for a refill. He saw you pouting out of the corner of his eye and cracked a smug grin. At least you knew you couldn't argue with him about it.

You both sat in silence, drinking your refilled drinks, when you spoke up. "I do enjoy talking about it, you know."

"What?"

"Sinnoh. It's...it's nice to talk about."

"Then why do you seem so upset?"

You smiled at him a bit, a sad smile. Bittersweet. Melancholy. "Just because you have bad memories of somewhere doesn't mean you don't have good ones too."

He thought about that. He didn't come from a very happy household. He didn't even want to think about his bastard father but his mother...he had only fond memories of his mom. In fact his mom was probably the only person he could stand in that house.

He understood.

"I'd like to hear more about Sinnoh, if you really want to talk about it."

You smiled again, a bit brighter this time, not knowing it made his entire day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last bit of angst for a little while


	21. Denial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You tell Guzma a little about Sinnoh and Plumeria teases her bestie
> 
> Slight NSFW language

He learned that unsurprisingly, Sinnoh, much like every other region, had its fair share of gang trouble. What he didn't expect, however, was exactly what Team Galactic's goal was.

"You're tellin me this dude tried to summon Pokemon time/space gods in an attempt to recreated the damn universe?"

"Gods who were then captured by a ten year old."

"What the actual fuck.." He turned a corner as you both made your way to the marina, mulling this over in his head. Why didn't he think of something like that? Surely that would get people's attention.

On second thought, he said to himself. That sounds pretty messy..

"So what, Sinnoh just has no gods now?"

"Not exactly.." You chewed your lip, trying to think of how to explain this. "I can't really speak on Palkia's behalf, but Dialga represents time. Just because that Dialga was captured doesn't mean another Dialga from say...10,000 years ago couldn't pass through into this timeline. There's a whole time paradox issue to this, I try not to think too hard about it."

He grunted. It sounded convoluted and not at all like something he could follow, but he still listened to you, enjoying hearing you go on about the different happenings in Sinnoh.

"Not to mention we had a being of darkness come forth to stop Palkia and Dialga from fighting and destroying the world."

What the fuck was even going on in that region..

"Sounds like you guys had your fair share of excitement." He stepped on the boat and offered you a hand.

You took it and hoisted yourself up. "I'll say, it was pretty wild."

You both set off for Po Town, talking the whole way, neither of you mentioning that you were still holding hands.

\---

"There you two are." Plumeria stood in front of the city gate, giving you both a harsh look as you walked up. "You're an hour later than usual, I was about to start looking for you myself."

"Heh, sorry Plumes.." Guzma scratched his head a bit. It was kind of endearing that he seemed to consider Plumeria an older sister of sorts. "We got distracted talkin."

She gave the both of you a once over with her eyes. "...what's with your hands?"

You'd forgotten about that and your cheeks grew hot at her words. Guzma, however, was a lot less subtle about it. He wiggled his hand away, scarlet all the way to his ears. "Nothin."

"Hm." Plumeria turned to leave, but not before giving you a sly wink. She then walked back into Po Town, leaving the both of you embarrassed and confused. You and Guzma looked at each other, then quickly looked away, following Plumeria inside.

Way to be subtle Plume.

\---

"You tryna embarrass me or somethin?"

Plumeria flipped through one of his magazines, grinning slyly. "Why Guzma, that would mean you had the capacity to feel embarrassment."

"Well...yeah. It didn't work but still, fuck off."

She snickered and turned a page, holding it out to him. "You sure have a thing for piercings huh?"

He huffed and snatched the magazine from her, throwing it behind him somewhere. "Stop changing the subject."

"What should we talk about then, how gently you were rubbing his hand with your thumb?" She grinned wider as he went a bright scarlet again. He could try to hide his emotions all he wanted but he wasn't very good at it.

"I dunno how we started holding hands okay, he probably just....handed me something and didn't let go." A lame excuse and he knew it.

"Holy shit, dude."

"What?" He folded his arms and drew up his knees, pouting like the giant man baby he was.

"You're elbow deep in the ass of denial."

"Ew, Plume, no."

She shrugged and laid back on his bed. "Excuse me, I forgot your hand has been elsewhere."

"I told you I don't know how-"

"I was referring to the magazine." She grinned and made an obscene gesture with her hand, causing him to scowl.

"Not funny."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish plume was my mom


	22. Heelies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guzma wears the worst(best) shoes
> 
> Slight implication of NSFW at the end

Days passed and it seemed like you and Guzma were back to dancing around each other awkwardly. You'd pass each other and mumble a quick hello, then continue on your way. No jokes, no conversation. Even your Tapu Cocoa breaks were quieter than usual.

That's why when Guzma rolled into the room on a pair of heelies, it startled you half to death.

"WHAT UP, IT YA BO-" was all he could get out before crashing into the wall.

You jumped and screamed, dropping the moo moo milk you were using onto the floor. Great, you needed that.

Guzma grumbled and lifted himself off the wall, holding onto it to stay steady. Then he grinned at you and flipped down his shades. "Like the wheels?"

You started cleaning up the milk, trying to act put out about it. "I'd be more appreciative of the wheels if they didn't cause messes."

"Not my fault you're a big ol fraidy Meowth."

You got up and thwacked him with your rag, sending milk splattering across his face. He stared at you for a minute, dumbfounded.

"Oh god I'm sorry, shit I'm so sor-"

"Oh it is on." He grinned and grabbed a bag of flour, slowly wheeling toward you with a huge smirk.

You squealed and ran to the other side of the room, causing him to laugh and try to wheel after you faster, only to slip and fall again.

This time getting flour all over the both of you. 

"Guzma, what the actual hell!" You tried to sound mad but you couldn't stop yourself from laughing. Heelies. Fucking heelies, of course he'd had fucking heelies.

He helped you clean up the flour, the tension between you gone once more.

Neither of you saw Plumeria watching from the doorway.

\---

"So I heard some screaming from in here earlier today."

You tried not to react as you put dinner in the oven, instead waving at her dismissively. "I fell and dropped a bunch of flour."

"Uh huh."

You felt like she knew you and Guzma were goofing off earlier, so you sighed and turned to her. "Why are you so interested in me spending time with Guzma?"

"So Guzma was involved."

"Stop half pretending you don't know Plume." Plumeria just shrugged at you.

"I pick on all of my siblings about their crushes."

Half of you was flattered she considered you a sibling. The other half was just plain embarrassed. You didn't answer her, as usual and instead pushed away your Gengar - now named Eris - who was currently trying to eat the coffee maker whole.

"Come on (y/n) you know you can talk to me about this." 

You manage to pry the coffee maker away from Eris and glance back at her. Sure you knew that. It was just hard admitting it to yourself, let alone another person.

"I'm..not sure how it started."

Plume snorted and leaned against the wall. "When are we ever sure how emotions work dude.."

"You aren't mad?"

"Why would I be?"

"I guess you two are so close I just...I mean I can't tell if you're siblings to each other or.."

At this she burst into laughter, doubling over and clutching her stomach. "You thought he and I were...holy fucking shit dude."

You rub at your cheek and smile a little, trying to get the embarrassing heat on your face to go away.

"He's more like a dude I just kind of silently adopted!" She straightened up and wiped her eyes, still grinning with the occasional giggle escaping. "Don't worry man, he's all yours."

"I mean I haven't exactly said I-"

"You don't have to, it's plain as fuckin day."

"Am I...really that obvious?" That was a bit worrisome. Did the whole team know? Did Guzma know?

"Don't worry man, Guzma's too thick headed to catch on. If you want him to know you'd have to either tell him or outright flirt with him."

Flirt with him? Hah! You were practically having panic attacks just thinking about it! And telling him? Out of the question.

"You know that isn't going to happen."

"Hm...your Gengar is at it again."

You turned around to see Eris trying to shove a whole box of food into her mouth.

What were you going to do with her... 

\---

"GUZMA, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

He threw himself face down on the bed and groaned loudly into the pillow. Not only had he completely embarrassed himself in front of you with his heelies stunt, he wasn't even sure why he cared enough to do it in the first place. 

Sure you were he's friend but...everyone here was his friend. Why did he have to make it his business to interfere with your business? Sure he'd taken it in stride and put on a brave face but he hadn't meant to crash like that.

You just looked...so tense. And he wanted to break that tension, make you laugh. Obviously you'd gotten what Plumeria had been hinting at that day you came back holding hands. And now you thought he...

Thought he what? Liked you? He huffed and turned over to look at the ceiling. Yeah, he liked you. And he didn't know what the fuck he was supposed to do about it either. You were tough and stood by your own morals. But it was more than just that. You were kind and soft, much softer than anyone else on the team. He didn't know why he liked that. He liked strength, he liked beating people down when they opposed him. And then you came and..

He ran a hand down his face and glanced at the door.

And slipped his other hand into his pants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is a short NSFW chapter!!!! You do not have to read it if you are uncomfortable with that. All NSFW chapters will have no plot!!!


	23. Solo*

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *NSFW
> 
> Warning for masturbation and vague imaginary blowjobs
> 
> You are not required to read this!!! I just want to make that perfectly clear, nothing of plot relevance happens in this chapter!

He wasn't sure exactly what it was about you that he liked so much. Sure you were nice to look at. He could say the same for a lot of people. It's not hard to find someone aesthetically pleasing.

He liked your voice. He liked the way you moved, how gentle you were with your Pokemon. Hell, how gentle you were with him. You were so...nice to him. Even though he yelled at you. Even though he had forced you into this at the beginning. You treated him like a friend.

He groaned a little as he palmed himself through his boxers. A friend. He was glad to be your friend. He was happy you liked him enough to consider him a friend. But was it selfish if he wanted more than that? Was it wrong to want to take it further?

Yeah, he thought. It is. There you go being selfish again, Guz. But he couldn't stop himself from envisioning you as he pushed down his pants. He knew it was wrong. It felt wrong. But he was only human. And humans were selfish, weren't they?

He tilted his head back as he squeezed himself gently, slipping his other arm under his pillow and arching his back a little. How dare you do this to him? How dare you make him so...weak? So weak and desperate. He hated himself for this. But he enjoyed every second of it.

He exhaled through his nose as he began to pump himself lazily, running his thumb over the head of his cock and gasping softly. 

He imagined you on your knees, kissing his thighs with your gorgeous lips. Kissing closer and closer...

This was absurd. Disgusting. But he kept going, too far in to stop without pissing himself off.

He groaned and moved his hand quicker, imagining you with your lips wrapped tight around his cock. What noises would you make? What did you feel like?

He imagined pulling you off and into his lap, kissing you roughly and leaving a trail of marks down your neck. You'd beg him for more and he'd be happy to oblige.

He stopped his fantasies there, not wanting to assume anything about your body, instead focusing on the image of your face as he kissed his way down your neck. Imagined your sounds as he-

He gasped and turned his head to the side. He groaned loudly and came, his thoughts locked on you as he stroked himself through the high.

He gradually slowed to a halt and laid there, panting, trying to gather himself. What a fucking mess he was.

Literally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha first time writing anything nsfw in a long time so I'm gonna have to work my way up to getting better at it..
> 
> Chapter was kinda on the short side, I apologize, I was nervous and embarrassed


	24. Who's That Pokemon?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get new addition to your little family

You walked beside Guzma silently. You'd already passed the Pokemon center, so you guessed your Tapu Cocoa was on hold for the time being. Where was he leading you?

Finally you broke the silence. "The uh...the Pokemon center is back there.."

"Yeah I know." He grinned at you. "Don't worry, you'll get your Cocoa fix. I wanna show ya something first though."

Slowly you started to recognize your surroundings. Was he taking you to Hano Beach?

You stepped onto the sand and looked around. Nobody was there. Well of course they weren't. Only the two of you would be crazy enough to go to the beach this early in the morning.

He stopped at the shore. "Just wait for it."

You followed his gaze to the edge of the water, confused, and you were about to ask what the fuck was up when you saw it.

Little Pyukumuku were making their way up onto the beach.

You felt yourself smile and bent down to get a closer look at one. Guzma bent down as well, giving one a little pet on the head.

"Jackson uh....Jackson told me you..wanted one." Guzma fished something out of his pocket and turned to you, pressing the object into your hand.

It was an empty pokeball.

You looked at him and grinned, turning excitedly to look for the one you wanted. After a few minutes you finally spot it. One, a bit smaller than the rest, was struggling to make its way up onto the sand. You crawled a bit closer and held up the pokeball.

"Hey little one...you're gonna live with me now, okay?"

\---

Guzma watched as you held the pokeball high in triumph, as if you'd just caught the rarest Pokemon in the world. He stood and shoved his hands in his pockets, giving you a lazy smile.

"What ya gonna name it?"

"Hmm..." You think for a moment, before turning to him. "What do you think I should name it?"

"Me? It's your Pokemon, yo."

"Yeah but you brought me here." You both start walking back towards town, ready for that Tapu Cocoa.

"We'll think on it, man."

\---

"Cocoa."

He looked at you as if you were the oddest thing he'd ever seen. "Well...yeah. This is cocoa."

You snickered a bit and held up the ball. "No you dumbass, the name."

"You wanna name it Cocoa?"

You nodded, looking at him expectantly. He shrugged. He didn't have any right to question your weird Pokemon names. He had a Golisopod named Podsy.

He smiled a bit as he took a sip of his drink. "I think that's perfect."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guzma's a fuckin dweeb u guys


	25. Gay Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your besties tell you how it is

You and Cocoa bonded instantly. The second he was out of his pokeball you immediately scooped him up, cradling him to you like a baby.

Podsy made a discontent noise, upset that he wasn't the one getting the attention. Guzma snickered and patted him on the head. "Don't worry bro, you'll always be my favorite."

Podsy clicked appreciatively at that.

You grin and reach up, placing Cocoa neatly on Podsy's head. "Now you're a babysitter."

Podsy looked less than pleased with this turn of events, so you take Cocoa back and cradle him once more.

"I'm startin to think you like that sea biscuit more than me."

"Well he is quieter."

"Why you little-" Guzma slung his arm over you and gave you the noogie of a lifetime. "You take that back ya little runt."

"Never!" You hop up and dash off with your Pyukumuku, leaving Guzma and Podsy behind. The Golisopod nudged Guzma gently with one of his legs, clicking in amusement.

"Oh shut the fuck up."

\---

You sat Cocoa on the kitchen floor and let him scoot around for a while. He was a growing boy, he needed exercise. You began rummaging through one of the boxes, trying to find something to make for lunch.

"Knock knock, broski."

You look up to find Jackson and Damian standing in the doorway. "Oh hey, come to give me a hand?"

"Check it, yo! We've taught you how to dance and move, now we're here to learn your cookin groove!"

You grin and bring some ingredients over to the oven. "Nice one, Damian."

"Aw shucks, cuz, you're too nice."

Jackson walked over to the wall and leaned against it. "I'm mostly just here to watch."

"As per usual," Damian said, pushing Jackson's arm a little. "You're so lazy."

"It's called conserving energy."

You snicker and get out a plate to chop berries on. These guys, honestly. 

"So have you asked Guzma out yet?" Came Jackson's not-so-subtle question.

You all stood in silence as the plate clattered to the floor.

Damian pushed Jackson again. "Ah don't listen to him none, cuz, we know ya don't actually-"

"Not yet."

Jackson sprang at the opportunity. "So you do like him."

"Yeah." You quietly start mixing the ingredients for seasoned meatballs, which you hoped to Palkia would turn out ok. You'd never actually made them before.

Damian cleared his throat. "So uh..do ya..plan to?"

"I don't know."

Jackson looked down as he felt something nudge his foot. He bent down and scooped up Cocoa, lifting him to his face for examination.

"(Y/n), I don't mean to alarm you, but you have an intruder."

You looked over and barked out a short laugh. "No, that's just Cocoa. Guzma and I caught him this morning."

Jackson raised his eyebrow at you, stroking Cocoa slowly. "Do go on."

"Oh my god, that's it. We were just on our usual Cocoa run and we stopped by the beach."

"You guys have usual Cocoa runs?" Damian took the Pyukumuku from Jackson, giving it a little scratch on the forehead.

"Yeah, why doesn't he usually go out for Tapu Cocoa?"

Jackson and Damian glance at each other, each giving the other a smirk.

"What.."

"Let me get this straight," Jackson began. "You and the boss have been having secret Tapu Cocoa get-togethers, caught a Pokemon, and then proceeded to name it after his favorite drink?"

You admit to yourself that does seem kind of...suspicious. Especially to outside eyes. But you knew it was just two close friends hanging out.

"Yeah?"

"Dude the boss is mad gay for you."

You snorted and began rolling the meat into neat little balls. "I doubt it."

"Bro, you blind? The boss man's totes been takin ya on secret dates!"

"Secret even to the recipient." You could practically feel Jackson smirking at you from across the room.

"Honestly have you seen the guy?" You ask, putting the tray into the oven. "The man can't walk two feet without expressing himself in some loud way. I'm sure I'd have noticed."

"Naw bro ya'll are just real bad at flirting."

"What to you guys know anyway?" You turn to them now, leaning against the wall and shooting them your best dads-busy-in-the-kitchen look.

"Uh?" Jackson gestured between the two of them. "Gay? Together? Already been through all that awkward pre-smoochy stuff. Now we're full smoochy." Jackson then leaned down, making embarrassing kissy faces at Damian, who pushed his face away.

"Not in public, bro.."

"Sorry bro, you're just so cute."

"Ooookay, out of my kitchen, you're gonna make the food too sweet."

They both snickered as you shooed them out. Brothers, right? You couldn't live with them.

But you certainly couldn't live without them either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so...if I made a mini fic about how Jackson and Damian got together would anybody be interested,,
> 
> I'm a slut for Grunt A/Grunt B ok ay,,,


	26. Figuring It Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guzma figures it out
> 
> Slight nsfw maybe?? Not rly
> 
> It's like two sentences

You knew that, eventually, you were going to have to face this.

You just didn't know how.

What were you supposed to say? Hey Guzma I think you're hot and secretly a sweetheart, go out with me? You had no kind of flirt game and you were even worse when it came to confessing.

You looked up at the sky for answers...which was admittedly a bad idea because you got rain in your eyes. You rubbed them clean and stuffed your hands in your pockets, silently hoping guard duty ended soon.

Jackson and Damian seemed pretty convinced that Guzma had a thing for you. You weren't so sure. He was an accomplished team boss, a strong trainer and an even stronger man.

Don't think about his biceps, you told yourself. You failed.

The point being, he was known throughout Alola. You were just some homeless riffraff he picked up. He was strong and hard and you...weren't. Surely it would be strength that he'd be attracted to.

Strength you were sure you didn't have.

You heard the whistle and started to head inside when you heard a thud come from the side of the mansion. You made your way over and, sure enough, Guzma had jumped off the roof again.

Onto his feet

How did he do that?

"Yo, wanna head out for a walk? Rain gets kinda repetitive." He grinned and held out his hand.

"Oh uh..sure." You took it, feeling warmer already.

Wait, that was just your face. Nevermind.

You walked out of Po Town together, hand in hand, and you could swear you felt his thumb rubbing your hand gently. It was small but such a...sweet gesture. You squeezed his hand gently and took a peek up at him.

How was he so tall? What was his secret? Your eyes make their way down. There were those biceps, and that thick chest and honestly...his butt wasn't too shabby either. You wondered if he worked out.

"Heh, like what ya see?" Your eyes snapped up to meet his. That impish smirk had made its way back onto his smug face. Busted.

"You wish." You elbowed him gently, trying to play the part of "uninterested-but-jokey friend." He elbowed you back and soon a war broke out, the two of you looking like idiots as you made your way to the marina.

"Where are we even going today?"

"Dunno, was just gonna go somewhere and chill."

"Fair enough." You followed him on board and went to sit in one of the folding chairs, only to have him plop down in it right before you could, causing you to sit in his lap.

"Sorry this seat's taken." He snickered at your growing blush and put his arms behind his head.

Two could play at this game. You summoned up all your courage and said fuck it. "Well then I guess this one is too." You wiggled around in his lap for a moment to "get cozy" before leaning back against him, leaving Guzma to silently lament his lack of judgement.

\---

Guzma could say with certainty that he'd thought about you in his lap before. He could also say with certainty that this was not at all how he expected it. Didn't you understand what you were doing to him? Rutting against him like that was downright cruel.

Control yourself, he thought. We're in public.

He knew you were making a point. Showing that you could dish out the jokes as well. So fuck it, he thought. I have to make a point right back.

He wrapped his arms around your waist, grinning. "Ya know," he said in a low voice. "Of you wanted to sit on ya boy's lap, you coulda just asked."

He felt you shiver. Actually shiver. Holy shit. Did you like this? 

"Not my fault you were too scared to ask me first."

Oh no you didn't. "Watch the sass, Mister, or I'm gonna have to set ya straight."

"I'd like to see you try."

"You asked for it." Was all the warning he gave before he began to tickle your sides mercilessly. You squealed, much to the annoyance of the other passengers, and hopped off his lap.

"What the fuck?"

He just closed his eyes and put his hands back behind his head.

The smug bastard.

\---

He had you all figured out now. Some may have thought he was dense but...okay he was pretty dense.

But your little crush on him was obvious from a mile away. He just couldn't believe he couldn't see it before.

But feeling you shiver like that, seeing your face everytime you touched him. He was bound to put it together eventually, dense or not.

He knew he was attractive. He could understand you being into him physically. But it wasn't just a physical relationship you were interested in. And neither was he.

It was just an added bonus.

The question that remained was: to outright confess or...to have a little fun. The thought of riling you up was way too tempting, so he decided to put asking you put on hold for now, instead deigning to tease you a little.

He eventually got up, letting you take over the seat and heading over to the side of the ship. He leaned against the railing and pondered his next course of action.

He could feel your eyes on him now, noticed when you were staring, so he leaned forward a little more, giving you a nice view of his rear end.

Which you seemed to enjoy, because when he glanced over you were almost drooling.

His eyes caught yours and he winked, causing you to huff and turn away in embarrassment. He only felt slightly sorry for teasing you, but honestly your reactions were golden.

He'd get around to asking you out soon but for now...

He was eating this up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyy if anybody has any art they wanna show me I can be found at chibibox.tumblr.com or chibibox.deviantart.com
> 
> Also eventually I may or may not add my own art to the fic but I'll let you guys know if I do


	27. Flirting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guzma has fun
> 
> Suggestiveness in some parts I guess???

Over the course of the next hour Guzma's teasing only seemed to worsen. He'd gone from "accidentally" posing provocatively to tripping you and catching you.

You felt your face heat up as he held you there, grinning down at you like he knew something you didn't. "Oughta be more careful, man."

You just nodded dumbly and stood up, trying not to show how much you wanted his arms around you again.

Guzma, of course, knew exactly what you were thinking.

He patted you on the back, only to trail his fingers down immediately afterwards, making you tense and shiver, and started walking away. "Be right back, babe."

Babe? He just called you babe! You went and sat down again, putting your face in your hands to hide your smile and your blushing face. Maybe he didn't like you how you liked him. Maybe he was just teasing.

But you couldn't say the attention was unwelcome.

You wanted him to touch you again. Wanted him to wrap his arms around you and ruffle your hair. Run his hands down your back again...

You shook your head. This is no time to be having thoughts like that. Besides he was coming back.

He stopped in front of you and held out a soda, which you took without hesitation. "Thank you."

He popped his own can open and grinned. "Thought you might need it, you looked thirsty."

You nearly spat the soda back out.

\---

Your reactions were fucking priceless.

Guzma was enjoying this way too much. The way you blushed, the way you shivered, the way you bit the inside of your cheek when he touched you...

All to keep yourself under control.

He was driving you wild and he knew it. You were getting pouty and he couldn't help but think that was precio- cute. Cute, it was cute. God Guzma don't think that word again, ew.

He knew he'd have to stop soon but for now this was too much fun.

Besides, he was sure you were enjoying yourself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy he sure is an asshole
> 
> If you want to support me you can find me at chibibox.tumblr.com and chibibox.deviantart.com!!


	28. Finally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, amiright?

Was he really flirting with you? You couldn't tell. You glanced back over your shoulder. Surely this was a joke. You had pretty much ground your ass into his lap, after all. Maybe this was just payback?

You tried not to get too hopeful but the thought that he was actually trying to flirt with you wouldn't leave your mind.

Then again, he did call you babe...

You watched as the self assured jackass took off his jacket. "Man it's hot out here ain't it."

Now you could definitely see those biceps.

It was clear by now he knew what he was doing. Knew you had feelings for him. Or at least knew you found him very, very....very attractive.

It wasn't as if you'd been subtle about it either. The way you'd been ogling him. But you just couldn't help yourself. The sunlight glinting off his eyes, his soft hair moving gently with the breeze. His fucking muscles.

Yeah, he fucking knew. He was practically strutting like a red Oricorio.

You lay back in the chair, determined not to show him any more attention. You could practically hear him pouting and you smiled.

You glanced up as he eventually walked over to you. "You're in my sun, bud."

"We're here, dumbass." He snickered and took your hand, helping you up.

"Where is here?"

You looked out onto the...dock? A big wooden dock with lots of boats tried to it.

"Poni Island." Guzma hopped out onto the dock and helped you out. Not that you needed the help but you appreciated the gesture.

"What's on Poni Island?" You started walking with him, keeping a hold on his hand. Maybe it was because you liked him but mostly it was because you'd never been here.

And he made you feel safe.

"You'll just have to wait and see won't ya." He grinned at you and winked again.

The infuriating asshole knew he was cute.

\---

 

Finally after what seemed like ages of walking you made it to your destination.

A meadow. He'd brought you to a meadow of huge trees with beautiful hanging purple flowers.

"Holy shit..."

"Heh, I uh...thought this might be a nice place to relax for a while. S'quiet."

You turn to him and smile. "It's perfect."

Nothing brought you more satisfaction than the redness that spread over his cheeks. "Yeah I mean it's fine, if you like it then that's cool or whatever."

You snickered and made your way over to the pond. You sat down in front of it and patted the ground beside you, signaling for him to sit with you.

He joined you, laying his head in your lap and crossing one foot over the other. He grinned up at you and you huffed, instead deciding to look out over the water. If he was going to tease you then you just weren't going to give him the time of day.

"Come on dude, attention ya boy."

"How dare you internet slang at me. Frankly I'm fucking offended."

"Nah ya ain't." You glanced down at him.

"What is this.."

"What is what?" You gestured to him. "Well, that's me."

You roll your eyes. "You know exactly what I mean."

"Someone sounds frustrated."

"Yeah a little." 

You both sat in silence for a while. You're not sure when but at some point you absentmindedly started playing with his hair. He closed his eyes and hummed appreciatively, evidently enjoying it. You smiled gently. He was cute when he wasn't being a dick.

"Mh, keep that up and I'm gonna fall asleep.."

"Good, you need it."

He grunted and shifted a little. "You asked what this was right.."

"Yeah..."

"Am I not being obvious enough?" You blushed and rubbed your cheek a little. He was being plenty obvious. But some selfish part of you wanted to hear him say it.

"Well.."

"What, I gotta ask?" You snicker.

"Well that is generally how it works..."

"Maybe you should, you're the one who's been eyein me up all day." Okay well, could he honestly blame you?

"You're the one who's been putting yourself on display. You look like a dork."

He opened his eyes just to make a show of rolling them, then cracked a grin. "Fine, guess it's gotta be me then."

He sat up and looked you in the eyes.

"(Y/n) do you want to go out with me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay we're closing in on readers backstory which, as the tags imply, is riddled with abuse, but I'll put a warning in the chapter description when we get there
> 
> If you'd like to support me you can find me at chibibox.tumblr.com and chibibox.deviantart.com!!!


	29. Concerns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You gladly accept only to have self doubt later

You want to say you kept your cool. You want to say your reaction was anything less than a loud excited yes. But then you'd be lying.

You cleared your throat as you felt your cheeks heat up. "I mean sure yeah, that's cool."

He grinned at you. Not his usual smug smirk either. He actually grinned at you. Happily. If only for a split second. "Well of course it's cool, I am a cool guy."

"You are most certainly not a cool guy."

"Don't say that shit out loud, I have a rep to uphold."

You snickered and pushed his shades down onto his eyes.

"Thank god, I was getting blinded by how pretty you are."

"Stop." He was full of himself now, self assured since he figured out that you liked him. You'd just have to get him back for all the teasing, wouldn't you?

You took a deep breath and reached towards him, brushing the hair away from his forehead and trailing your fingers down his face gently. His eyes widened a bit, red spreading across his face. Not so sure of himself now. He liked to tease but couldn't take it when you were the one doing the teasing.

You smiled at him a bit and rubbed your thumb gently across his cheek, causing him to stutter out random syllables as if he wasn't even sure what he was trying to stay.

"I...just...f, puh..." What a fucking dork.

"You're so easy to embarrass."

At that he moved your hand away and huffed.

What a baby.

\---

Eventually you both made your way to a Pokemon center to have your daily beverage, the both of you suffering from excited new relationship jitters.

He wouldn't let go of your hand after that, holding onto you as if you'd dash off any second. You found it kind of endearing, if a little sad. Who hurt this man? You enjoyed the hand holding anyway.

You'd both take sips of your Tapu Cocoa, glance at each other, then look away bashfully, his thumb rubbing your hand gently. He wasn't very good with mushy stuff, so you were extremely pleased with the small affectionate gesture.

But he didn't know what you'd been through. He'd seen you break down. Would he really be able to live with that? In a relationship where you could give up and break into tears at any time?

You glanced at him again, and he must've seen the worry on your face because he squeezed your hand gently. "Something wrong?"

"I...I don't know, it's just.."

He looked worried now, probably thinking you were having second thoughts so you reassured him quickly. "You haven't done anything, I still want this."

He calmed himself and nodded, rubbing your hand again.

"It's just...I've been through so much shit, you know? Shit that still affects me." You look down at your now empty cup. When did you finish that? "I just don't want to scare you away because I have emotional issues."

"Dude, have you seen me? I'm riddled with anger and depression." You look at him again, surprised to see such a serious look on his face. "I'm not going to just up and abandon you because you've been through awful shit. I might get frustrated yeah, and I'm sorry for that, but that's just my issues coming out."

You went to speak and he held up a hand. "Not sayin it's right, just sayin it happens. But I'm not going to judge you when I have issues too."

You nod at him and push your cup away. "Thanks. That...means a lot. For you to open up a little to reassure me."

He shrugged and gulped down the last of his Cocoa. "Just can't stand to see ya sad."

You both sat quietly for a while, holding hands and trying in your own weird way to make each other feel better.

"If I tell you what happened will you tell me?"

He looked at you again, surprised that you'd figured him out. "Tell you wh-"

"You know what. I know a victim when I see one."

He shifted a little, clearly uncomfortable being lumped as a victim and you wince.

"I'm sorry, I just-"

"No it's fine, just...not here. Let's wait till we get back, aight?"

You nod again. You could wait.

\---

Once back in Po Town you both made your way to his room, not stopping to address the curious glances coming from the crew. You saw Jackson nudge Damian out of the corner of your eye and blushed. Yeah you'd have to talk to them later.

Once in his room he shut and locked the door behind him, then went to the bed and sat. He patted the spot next to him and you sat down as well.

"Who's goin first?"

"I can, if you want." He nodded to you, not wanting to actually push you but genuinely curious. And concerned.

Okay, you thought. I can do this. It's okay to talk about it.

So you started talking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Abusive backstory in the next two chapters!!! I really don't want to upset anyone but some parts of these are based on personal experience and it's a good way to vent I guess
> 
> Also I'm okay, in case any of you were going to ask


	30. Sinnoh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You tell the story of how you came to Alola
> 
> WARNING: Physical abuse and transphobia. Nothing sexual ok I promise

It was Monday, another week at trainers' school in Sinnoh.

You didn't want to do this.

You looked up at the school with tired eyes, knowing what would be waiting for you in there. But you had to go. He'd be pissed if you skipped.

So you made your way through the door, glancing around at the other students.

Students who were whispering.

You felt small. Small and trapped and helpless as you started towards your classroom.

"-she hasn't had sur-"

"-ways knew she was weird-"

"-ranny-"

You picked up the pace, trying to blink away the tears that we're starting to form.

You'd told her in confidence. So sure that she'd keep it to herself.

She told her brother. Who told his friend. Who told so-and-so and it had spread like a wildfire.

So much for having a best friend.

You spend the first half of the day staying as far away from the other students as you could. You ate lunch alone. You stayed out of the bathrooms.

You came into 7th period with bruises. You had enemies now. Enemies you'd never even spoken to before today.

It just got worse.

Every day they were fresh, new from kids who didn't want you here. Kids who put their hands on you with the intent to hurt.

Weeks passed before the teachers started to notice. A call to your parents.

Your stepfather was furious.

"What's all this I hear about you bein a boy?" You didn't answer, couldn't. It was better to keep your mouth shut. "Ain't never had a son, only a daughter with delusions and apparently the inability to defend herself."

You still stayed quiet, looking at the floor. You felt him raise your head and a stinging slap across the mouth.

"You look at me when I'm talkin at you!"

You blinked back tears, trying so hard not to cry. He was worse on you when you cried.

"I didn't raise no pussy, now you fight back." You felt another slap before you actually registered that he'd moved. A tear rolled down your cheek.

"Stop cryin and fight back!" Another slap. He'd shoved you to the floor. Kicked you in the ribs.

Your mother watched from the hallway, scared that she would be next. You didn't blame her, not really. But you still felt a little betrayed.

You laid there and took his blows, just waiting for it to be over.

\---

You dropped out. It was the last year of school. You were so close.

And you'd dropped out. You couldn't take it anymore. Between the bruises from home and the bruises from school you decided one beating a day was enough for you.

You got a small job in secret, not wanting your shitheaded stepfather to take it from you.

You had to get out of here.

\---

2 years passed. You were twenty.

This was it. You had to go now.

Your father was drunk. Horribly drunk. He'd thrown beer bottles at you, as always telling you to fight back. You were sure he thought he was doing you a favor.

Then he picked up a broken bottle and you'd had enough.

You ran. You flew out the door with absolutely nothing to your name. Just a pocket full of meager savings and the clothes on your back.

\---

He was behind you. You could hear him. Cursing and shouting, telling you to come back home. 

You knew what would happen if you went back. So still you ran, lungs on fire, legs aching. But you couldn't stop. You had to go, you had to get away, you had to-

A boat. A boat at the harbor. You ran towards it as fast as you could, you had to hide.

The crates. They were being loaded. If you could just make it into one-

You looked behind you, looking for your stepfather. He was gone. But you still ran, not taking chances.

The crewman turned his back to you. Your chance. You opened one of the crates and hid inside, closing it behind you.

You were surrounded by Duckletts. It was too dark to see but you could hear them. And then you were moving, the crate was being loaded. It stopped.

You'd made it.

\---

You were chased off the boat by a very, very angry crewman. Once again you were running but this time it didn't seem like your pursuer was going to chase you very far.

You ducked into a pastry shop and hid under one of the tables.

"Hey uh...you okay there?"

You looked up at the person currently sitting at said table. A boy. Couldn't be older than 11.

He grinned at you.

"I'm Hau! You need help, cousin?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more abuse chapter after this


	31. Alola

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guzma tells you his story
> 
> WARNING: Abuse and alcoholism. Still nothing sexual

Guzma stared hard at the floor, his free hand balled into a fist. He was shaking.

You reached over to him. "I'm sorry, I-"

"Don't." You jumped a bit, not expecting him to be this pissed off. "Don't you ever apologize."

You looked down, ashamed. Ashamed for apologizing, ashamed for everything that had happened to you. And deep in your gut you were still slightly ashamed you were trans.

Guess that's what years of abuse does to a person.

You felt his hand on your cheek, his thumb rubbing gently. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to raise my voice, I just.."

You blinked, a few heavy tears making their way down your face.

"I can't stand the thought of you being put through that."

He pulled you to him, albeit a bit awkwardly. He still wasn't used to consoling, but he was trying his best.

"I'm sorry for dumping all of that on you. I'm sorry I apologized. And I'm sorry for that sorry too. And I'm-"

He ran his fingers through your hair gently and shushed you. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

You cried into his chest quietly as he rocked you, neither of you speaking in fear of the both of you breaking down. One into despair and one into rage.

Finally he spoke up. "Do you...do you still want to know about my home life?"

You looked up at him and nodded. "Only if you're willing."

He nodded stiffly and sighed.

He had to tell you now.

\---

Second place! He'd gotten second place!

He hugged his Wimpod to him, then lifted him up in pride. "We did it, Podsy!" Podsy clicked at him excitedly, happy his trainer was so proud of him.

His father, however, was not proud.

Guzma held out the trophy proudly, grinning at his dad, longing for his praise.

It never came.

"Second place? You're proud of second place?"

Guzma shifted uncomfortably. "Well...it's not third place."

"Excuses. I expect better out of you and you know that. I didn't raise my son to be a loser."

"But I didn't lose!"

"You might as fuckin well have. Pathetic." His father looked at Podsy and sneered. "It's 'cause you keep using this piece of shit."

His father made a move to grab Podsy but Guzma snatched him out of the way. "Don't touch him!"

"You talkin back to me boy?" Guzma eyes widened in fear as he was lifted off the ground by the collar of his shirt. Podsy dropped to the floor and skittered away. At least he was safe.

He grunted as he was thrown to the ground, then tried to crawl away as his father picked up a golf club.

"Now you're really gonna get it."

\---

Guzma locked himself in his room, sliding to the floor and drawing up his legs. He put his face in his arms and wept silently.

He felt a tickle on the side of his leg and looked at Podsy with his one unbruised eye.

"I'm glad you're okay Podsy."

Podsy clicked sadly, wishing there was something he could do but he knew he couldn't. He was small. His father could easily squash him.

"No it's okay. I wanted you to get out of there, I didn't want him to hurt you."

Podsy crawled into his arms, doing his best to comfort the boy, who wrapped said arms around him and pressed his face to Podsy's shell.

"One day, buddy, you 'n me. We're gonna leave and never look back."

\---

He was being beaten again. This time he didn't even know what for.

He'd stopped trying by then. Stopped caring, abandoned his Island Challenge at the last second. What was the point? It wasn't going to be good enough, it never was. And he was too tired to deal with it anymore.

He was 19 now. Saving up money to get his own place but never really having the balls to leave.

He felt another punch connect with his jaw. He didn't fall, he stood his ground, steadying himself against the wall. Don't fall, he told himself. It'll only be worse if you fall.

So he just stood there and took it. His mother was desperately trying to calm his dad down but to no avail. He just pushed her out of the way. "Stay out of this, woman!"

He was about to throw another punch and Guzma braced himself, squeezing his eyes shut. It never came.

His eyes popped open again as he heard the pained squeal of Podsy - now a full grown Golisopod - and watched as he crumpled to the floor.

"Ugh, stupid bug. Getting in the way like that."

He felt rage engulf his mind.

He blacked out.

\---

He ran. He ran as fast as he could, cradling Podsy's pokeball.

The blood on his hands, the bent golf club. His terrified father.

The conflicted look in his mother's eyes.

"Guzma," she'd said sadly. "What is wrong with you?"

He couldn't take it, couldn't deal with it anymore so he ran like a coward. He didn't regret what he did. Not in the least. But that look on his mother's face told him all he needed to know.

He couldn't stay there.

\---

"'Nother shot." He slammed his shot glass down on the bar, much to the annoyance of the bartender.

He spent most of his nights drinking now. Trying to wash away your failure with liquor Guzma? He thought, in his fathers voice. Pathetic.

Guzma, what is wrong with you...

Fucking pathetic.

Shouts came from the other side of the bar. He glanced over. A woman was being harassed by a very very drunk man. He had her backed against the wall with his hands on either side of said wall, so she couldn't escape.

"Come on baby, donchu wanna have a little fun?"

"I don't think we have the same definition of fun."

Guzma sighed and stood. He started to walk over when the woman gave the man a hard kick the the stomach, sending him falling back on his drunk ass.

Huh, looked like she didn't need his help after all.

She looked over, locking eyes with him for a moment before starting for the bar. He sat back down and threw back his shot, then felt her plop down into the seat next to him.

"Sorry to ruin your heroic moment bud, but I'm not a damsel in distress."

"Heh...guess not, huh?"

She glanced at him, then ordered herself a shot. "Thanks anyway."

"Can't stand to see people get up in other people's faces like that. Name's Guzma by the way."

"Plumeria." She waved the barkeeper down. "Another shot for my new friend as well."

New friend, huh?

Like that would last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk if I'm gonna post anymore today traffic on this fic seems to be slowin down but we'll see


	32. Place Your Bets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things calm down and you talk to Jackson and Damian

You swallowed, your throat dry and raw from crying. You held out your hand and cupped his face.

Wet. He was crying too, if only a little.

"You weren't ready.."

He placed his hand over yours. "No I'm fine. I wanted to tell ya. It..you told me your story. I had to."

You brought your hand down and wrapped your arms around him, pressing your face into his chest again. He was so solid. Sturdy. Comforting.

"I'm sorry."

"Nothin for you to be sorry for."

He wrapped his arms around you as well and laid down. You held each other tightly and cried together.

It honestly helped.

\---

You woke up later that day, wondering what time it was. And then you jolted a little, panicking slightly as you tried to remember where you were.

Oh. You were in Guzma's bed. In Guzma's arms...

You blushed a bit and looked at him, only to find he was already awake.

"Yo."

"Hey..." You squirmed a little and he loosened his hold on you. Just a bit.

"Heh...if you wanted to sleep with me you coulda just asked..."

"Oh my god." You hid your face in his chest again and huffed. Now that you were in a calmer state of mind you could take a moment to appreciate just how defined that chest was. You felt your face growing hotter by the minute.

He snickered at you and ruffled your hair, then sat up and stretched.

"We should probably get out of here before people get the wrong idea huh.."

He grinned a little. "Let em talk. At least then they'll know you're off limits."

You rolled your eyes and sat up as well, coughing a little. Oh right, your throat.

"We should probably get you some water though."

\---

Jackson and Damian had ambushed you on break again, both grinning wide from ear to ear.

"So." Jackson started.

"So?"

"So you were in the boss's room for a while." You scoffed and leaned against the side of the mansion, cheeks reddening already.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, we just talked." You shook your head slightly. "Why are you guys and Plumeria so interested in my love life?"

"You got a love life?" Damian joked, elbowing you gently.

"Well I...do now.." You pressed your palm do your mouth and glanced away, trying to hide your embarrassed smile.

"No fuckin way." Jackson grinned. "Who asked who out?"

"Guzma asked me.."

Damian laughed and held out his hand to Jackson. "1,000 Pokedollars!" Jackson grumbled and rooted around in his pocket for a minute, then handed Damian the cash.

"Oh my god, you guys had a bet on this?"

"Mhm!" Damian started counting the money.

"Oh Jackson honey, you had too much faith in me."

Jackson shrugged. "S'alright, he's just gonna buy me things with it anyway." He snickered and leaned in closer. "He has a hard time with PDA so he showers me with gifts in an attempt to woo me."

"What no I don't, you take that back."

You snickered at the two of them and wondered how long it would take for you and Guzma to settle into this kind of routine.

Then again, you guess you already had some sort of routine. But you couldn't help but long for that affectionate flirty banter. 

Jackson and Damian were so happy together, everything flowed so naturally for them. They seemed to always know what the other was thinking.

But you supposed that came with time, like everything else.

"Bro, didn't you hear the whistle?"

"Yeah cuz, it's time to get back to work."

You blinked and looked at them. Then you smiled.

Yeah everything would come with time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha I lied have another chapter,


	33. A Series of Disconnected Events

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jackson's a dick and Plumeria can cook now

"You didn't."

"I did."

Plume gave Guzma a solid pat on the back. "You fuckin go, Guz!"

He grunted and grinned a little. "Pft, no biggie. I've known for a while now he liked me."

"Uh huh." She rolled her eyes and fell back on his bed. "I'm gonna bet you only found out this morning." Guzma remained unfazed by the accusation.

"Shoulda seen him, Plume. Eyein me up the whole time."

"Oh because you haven't eyed him up before?" She raised her head and snickered at the blush spreading over his cheeks. "Oh quit lookin at me like that, you know I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, Plume.

\---

You flopped back into bed, sighing at the relief of finally being able to lay the fuck down.

Your piece of mind didn't last long however, as your roommates began pestering you.

"Holy shit are you actually-"

"Finally, we've been wondering when you two would-"

"I mean it was obvious you were totes gay for each other so-"

You groaned and put your hands over your eyes. "Did Jackson and Damian tell everybody?"

"Just Jackson." You sighed. Of course it was just Jackson.

"I swear to Palkia I'm gonna kill him."

Casey snickered and pet Ahi, who kind of just stayed out of his pokeball now since everyone liked him so much. "What do you think about this, big guy?"

Ahi huffed and scratched behind his ear. He didn't like it one bit.

"Think of it this way, now you have two people to feed you beans." You told him. You snickered as he seemed to consider it.

"So when is he gonna take you on a date?"

You blushed at that and shrugged. "Well we sort of had one this morning so I don't know if he'd want to go out again so quickly."

Telly giggled. "I dunno, you guys put it off for a while."

"Did everybody except me know he liked me?"

"Yep, and everybody except Guzma knew you liked him."

"This is some sitcom shit, I'm goin to sleep." The girls snicker at you as you roll over to face the wall. 

You slept better than you had in weeks.

\---

"I'm thinking of getting my ears pierced."

Plumeria looked up at you from the dough she was mixing. She helped in the kitchen now, finally having caught on to the art of cooking. She loved baking the best.

"What kind of piercings?

"I was thinking maybe small gauges?"

Plumeria chuckled quietly and peeked at her cookbook. "You do that and Guzma's gonna cream his jeans."

"Plume!"

"What? He didn't tell you he's got a hard on for piercings?" You shook your head. No he hadn't actually but now that it'd been mentioned it was extremely tempting.

"No bigger than six millimeters, though. At least for now, I don't know about in the future."

"Hm.." She added some more spice to the mix and stirred it. "I could do it for you. Smell this."

You leaned forward and gave it a good sniff. "Smells good, I love nanab berries. And you can?"

"Yeah I did mine myself."

"Yours?"

She stuck out her tongue at you to reveal a simple silver stud. That was cool. You're sure your eyes must've been sparkling with admiration.

"Simmer down there, let's start with the ears."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fucking dabs I'm on a roll today


	34. Oops!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You make a small mistake

You sighed as you sank down into the bathtub. That was much better. After such an emotional roller coaster between the past couple of weeks it was good to get some alone time.

The bath situation was a bit weird. The place didn't have working plumbing so to get hot water you had to either use rain water or have a water Pokemon. And then you had to burn logs under the tub from outside.

You had your Araquanid - Celia - fill the tub for you and then you had Ahi start the fire.

You sank down in the water until only your nose and eyes remained out. It was rare to get quiet like this. Between the rain outside, the grunts, and Guzma it was really noisy around Po Town.

Not that you particularly minded but it was nice to enjoy your own company sometimes.

Speaking of Guzma, you thought. I wonder what he's up to. It had been two weeks since you got together and you still got all fluttery when you thought about him.

You hadn't kissed yet, much to your disappointment, but it would happen eventually right?

Sometimes, such as now, he went off on Team Skull official business. Which you took to mean as Pokemon theft.

You still didn't like it. But you understood that most people in Team Skull weren't that proud of it either. Including Guzma. Even if he didn't say it.

You did what you had to sometimes. You just wished none of you had to.

\---

You forgot your clothes. 

You cursed yourself for being so inattentive. You had your previous uniform but it was slimy with rain and mud. You unplug the tub and get out, drying off quickly and wrapping the towel around yourself.

You opened the door a bit and peeked out. Nobody seemed to be around at the moment. Your room was downstairs.

You'd have to make this quick.

You dashed out of the bathroom, making a Beedrill line for the stairs, when a couple of grunts came walking out of their room.

Shit, you thought. Shit, fuck, cock.

You changed directions and clambered over a broken chandelier -getting a splinter in the process - and entered the first door you came across. You shut the door behind you and slid to the floor, sighing with relief.

The relief was soon gone when you realized whose room you were in.

\---

Guzma entered the mansion, groaning as soon as the door shut. He was so fucking tired. It was supposed to be simple. Find a couple brats, steal a couple Pokemon. In and out. But some still didn't quite fear him yet and were willing to try and battle him into giving up.

That's the thing about Guzma. He doesn't give up. Not anymore.

He sighed and dragged himself up the stairs. He vaguely wonders what you're up to before entering his room and locking the door behind him.

Only to find you sitting in the floor.

Wearing nothing but a towel.

Oh boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry nothing nsfw happens in the next chapter lmao


	35. Cover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guzma comforts you
> 
> Warning: Dysphoria

"Um."

He stared down at you for a moment, trying to piece the situation together in his head. Okay so, you were in his room. Check. You were almost naked. A given. But why?

You curled in on yourself a bit, obviously embarrassed beyond belief. "I...I was just...I took a bath and I, I forgot my clothes and uh,,,I went to get em but...people and..." You trailed off and hid your face in your knees.

He took a deep breath. Get ahold of yourself Guzma. He smiled at you. 

"Heh..don't worry about it, it's no biggie. Here," he walked over to the closet and fished around in it for a second, before tossing you a white tank top and a pair of his pants. "Put these on, I'll stay turned for ya."

You got up and removed the towel, peeking over to make sure he wasn't looking, and then dressed quickly, not wanting to be exposed longer than you needed to be.

Only to realize you left your binder in the bathroom.

You sat on his bed and wrapped your arms around your chest, trying to hide them, not exactly wanting him to see. "Okay, you can turn around."

He turned and did his best not to stare at you, instead going over to sit beside you. He'd never seen you without your binder before but he knew better than to make a big deal out of it. It wasn't really that important anyway. "Heh, my pants are too big for ya."

You giggled softly at that and he grinned, glad you were starting to unwind.

"Not my fault you're taller than Mount Lanakila."

You laid back, still trying to keep your chest covered. He ran his fingers through your hair. "You know you don't have to do that right..."

"I know...I just hate them."

He nodded and laid down beside you, covering you up. "There, now I can't see."

You smiled at him gently, appreciating the gesture. "Thank you."

You could practically see his heart skip a beat and you wondered if he really found you that cute.

"You wanna just hang out in here for now?"

You nodded. Even like this he still made you feel safe. He smiled and leaned forward, pressing his lips to your forehead.

You froze and gawked at him, stunned.

"Shit," he averted his eyes and grimaced a bit. "Sorry was I not supposed to-"

You leaned forward and planted your lips firmly on his, making him jump a little. You tried to suppress your laughter.

After a moment he caught on and placed a hand against your cheek, leaning forward a bit to deepen the kiss.

He tasted like cocoa.

You pulled away after a moment, giggling at his starstruck expression. "You okay?"

A thin coat of red spread across his face and he looked away. "Heh, yeh, I'm good. Great actually."

"I wonder what could've caused that."

He snickers. "Yeah I wonder."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guzma's a jackass but he's not going to take advantage


	36. Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Guzma flirt and Plumeria has a lot on her mind

A week passed after that glorious disaster and you found yourself laying in bed in your break.

You browsed the internet on your dex, looking up things like "caring for pyukumuku", "malasada recipes", and "memes".

Your boyfriend was the reason for the memes.

It was just a regular old dex. Kinda beat up but you didn't mind. Kukui had given it to you upon starting your challenge and had even offered to give you a brand new Rotom dex. But you'd declined. He only had a limited supply and, to be quite frank, you didn't like the thought of your dex teasing you about your internet history.

You heard a ping go off and a notification popped up.

"Guzzie messaged you!"

You grinned and clicked on it. If he ever saw you listed him as Guzzie he'd probably die.

The message opened up to a selfie of Guzma, laying on what you thought was his bed. His hair was messy and his was giving you that signature cocky grin. He was winking.

"What are you doin slackin off?" Was all the message read.

You grinned and opened up the camera on your dex, sticking out your tongue and flipping the bird before snapping the photo.

"I'm on my break, asshole." You sent the message and picture, giggling to yourself.

It only took him a minute to reply.

There was no message, just a picture of him with his hand to his chest and his mouth hanging open in mock offense. You couldn't help it and laughed, starting to type back. What a dweeb.

"Don't be a baby."

"Why don't you come say that to my face."

You snickered and stood up, putting your dex away.

\---

He grinned and tossed his dex to the side. You hadn't messaged back so he assumed you were on your way. And sure enough, not a minute later, there was a knock at his door.

"S'open."

It wasn't you. It was Plumeria. He hoped his disappointment didn't show. After all she was still his best friend.

"Oh hey Plume."

"I'm....going out for a little while." He looked her over. She looked a little...put off somehow. As if she was thinking really hard about something.

"You okay?"

"Yeah I just got a lot on my mind." That was new. He thought she told him everything. He deflated a little.

"Oh okay. Come back soon, yeah?"

"Yeah."

And with that she was gone.

\---

You passed Plume on the way to Guzma's room and stopped, tapping her in the arm. She stopped and looked at you. She looked tired and confused.

"You okay?"

"Uh...yeah, yeah." She seemed really out of it. "Just goin for a walk, be back later."

"Okay.." You squeezed her arm gently, then let go. "I'm here if you wanna talk."

"...thanks."

\---

He looked up as you entered his room and grinned. "Glad you could make it."

You scoffed and sat down, but couldn't help but grin yourself. "You're right up the stairs, it's not like I had to go on a quest to find you."

"Mh, maybe I should hide harder next time." You snicker and tie your hair up in a high ponytatail.

"Your hair looks good like that."

"Oh uh..thank you." You lay down and try to play it off, but can't help but get giggly when he pays you a complement.

"Gotta say though, I really like your wild 90s hair."

"You like anything wild and 90s."

He grins. "Shit, you caught me."

You sighed and closed your eyes, just relaxing with him.

"Did you see Plumes on your way up?"

You frowned a little and glanced at him. "Yeah she looks really..."

"Out of it."

"Do you know what's wrong?"

He shook his head and sighed. "She usually tells me everything, but she's being so cryptic."

You took his hand and rubbed it gently. "She'll come around."

"Thanks, babe."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh


	37. Beach Bum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You receive unwanted messages

The next day Guzma had took you on a much needed date. Both of you needed some alone time and you went to a malasada shop to pick something up to go.

You were sitting on the beach, one hand in Guzma's, the other on your malasada, when your dex went off.

You sighed and got it out, flipping it open. The message you saw nearly made you drop it.

"28 New messages from Beach Bum!"

Guzma looked over and snorted. "Who the fuck-"

"It Kukui."

He went quiet at that. You looked over to see him biting into his malasada maliciously, seemingly upset that you were receiving messages from his...rival? Ex friend? You weren't sure.

"I'm not messaging him back, y'know."

"Yeah I know..." He wiped his mouth and glanced at you. "Why'd you start the Island Challenge anyway? Aren't you too old for it?"

You shrug, taking a bite and not even bothering to finish chewing before speaking again. You were picking up his nasty habits.

That's my boy, Guzma thought.

"I dunno, I met Hau and he introduced me to Kukui. I think they could pretty much tell I was homeless. They just gave me something to do out of pity I think. I wasn't all that interested in it but it was better than just sitting around."

You looked at the trial marker on your bag, then snatched it off and threw it into the ocean.

"What the- why'd you-"

"I don't want you to worry about me going back." You leaned against him and closed your eyes. 

He didn't say anything, but the feeling of his lips against your head was all the answer you needed.

\---

You really did miss them, a little bit.

Hau and Kukui. Burnett. Even old Hala.

But you couldn't bring yourself to message them back. Couldn't stand to see the disappointment as they realized you'd thrown in with the "enemy". You wished people could see Team Skull for what they really are. Just people with no other place to go and no other way to live.

But you were just a nameless runaway to them. Someone to be pitied. And you doubted they'd listen to you.

Whatever, you thought to yourself. At least I have these guys. You looked over at Casey and Telly, the first hanging halfway off her bed and the second contorted into what looked like a painful sleeping position.

You glanced over at your third roommate -Kayli, you'd learned - who was surprisingly still awake. You watched her type something on her dex, only to shake her head and delete it, then start the process over.

Huh, I wonder what she's up to..., was the last thought you had before you drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heheh


	38. Plugs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You learn just a little bit about Plumeria

"And there you go."

You'd finally done it, finally gotten around to getting your ears pierced and stretched. And now you had six millimeter plugs made of dawn stone.

They were gorgeous.

You turned to Plumeria, grinning wide. "Thank you, I love them!"

Plumeria grinned back, proud of her work. "Wasn't as bad as you thought it would be, huh?"

You shook your head. "I thought you were supposed to wait weeks in between stretching though?"

Plume shrugged and started putting her equipment back in her drawer. "Yeah you are, but I'm a professional. I wasn't gonna hurt ya."

"A professional?"

She nodded and sat back on the bed. "Used to be my job, y'know."

"Huh.." You hadn't known that actually. "Well you're certainly good at it."

"Heh, thanks..."

You both sat quietly for a bit, her poking around on her dex and you feeling the new plugs in your ears.

That was gonna take some getting used to.

"Hey Plume?"

"Mh?"

"Why were you so out of it yesterday?" You frowned as she nearly dropped her pokedex. "You don't have to tell me if yo-"

"Promise not to tell Guzma?"

You blinked in surprise. You hadn't expected her to trust you. You nod slightly. "Promise."

She sighed and turned her dex to you. "I um...sort of met someone." You glance at the screen to find someone messaging her flirty banter and complements. You giggle a little and she whaps your head with the dex gently. "Shut up, man."

"Who is it?"

"I don't....know." You stared at her for a minute. "Hey don't look at me like that."

"You don't even know who this is? Not even a name?" She shrugged at you and looked back at her dex.

"Never been known for making good decisions. 'Sides I know it one of us. Nobody else would have my contact info."

That sounded all well and good but you still felt like she should know the person before she got herself hurt.

"Here's what I know if it'll put your mind at ease. She's twenty. Her favorite Pokemon is Trubbish because she feels like it doesn't get enough love. She's allergic to lum berries and she loves your meatloaf."

You snickered at that, relaxing a little. You still weren't completely on board but she was a grown woman, she could make her own decisions.

"She's also really shy and that's why she's scared to ask me out to my face." She holds up a hand before you can interject. "That doesn't mean it's guaranteed, I know that. I'm not gonna get my hopes up until I know who it is."

"Why don't you want Guzma to know?"

"You're dating him, you tell me." You thought about it for a minute, then decided she was right. If Guzma knew he'd get all the troops in the yard and demand to know who it was. Violently.

"Yeah you're probably right."

You didn't want to find out Guzma's way.

You wanted to find out your way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :3c


	39. Uncomfortable?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You learn that Damian may or may not have an issue with Jackson

"Ain't many twenty year olds in Team Skull, cuz." Damian stuck his spade into the beach and looked up at you. "In fact the only people above nineteen are you, the boss, big sis, Addi, Terence, Casey, and Kayli."

"Are any of them allergic to lum berries?"

Damian looked at you like you were crazy, then went back to attacking the sand. "I honestly got no idea, bro. Why'd ya ask?"

You shook your head. "It's a secret, yo."

"You're startin to sound like us." You snicker a bit.

"Well I have been here for almost two months."

You both continued to dig and your fingers hit something hard. You pried it out of the ground and showed it to Damian.

"Shit bro, that's huge pearl!" You grinned and dropped it in the pouch, proud of your find. "That's gonna make us a decent amount of money."

"I sure hope so." You keep digging, hoping maybe your luck will stick around. "Dooooo any of them really like Trubbish?"

Damian snorted. "You must be talkin about Kayli. Girl's obsessed with Trubbish. Really wants one." He picked up a rock and, dubbing it unworthy, tossed it behind him.

"Really..." You shook your swim trunks out, trying your damnedest to keep sand out of your asscrack. "How are things with Jackson?"

Damian's face blew up redder than a tamato berry. "Well I'm uh...good. Things are good..."

"Oh no you've got something juicy, spill." Damian shook his head.

"Nothing juicy I was just...remembering something." You raised an eyebrow at that. Damian pulled up his bandana to cover his eyes and you saw it. It was small but there.

Damian had a hickey.

"Oh my god, so when you guys snuck off from guard duty this morning..?"

He groaned and pulled his bandana back down. "He's always doin that, y'know? Pullin me away and...gettin touchy. It's nice and in its own way...kinda exciting. But we almost always get caught."

You felt something wet nudge against your leg and looked down to find Cocoa has come back from his soak. You smiled and picked him up, looking back at Damian.

"He must really find you hot, dude."

He pulled down his hat this time, having learned from past mistakes. You patted his back. 

"Does it make you uncomfortable?"

"I..I dunno, I always like it, y'know? S'just embarrassing. It's not uncomfortable. I mean it's Jacki- Jackson." You grin a little at his slip up. You were so gonna tease "Jackie" later.

"You can tell him to stop whenever you want, you know that right?"

He shook his head. "It's not really that concerning, cuz, but thank you."

"'Course man."

\---

You and Damian made it back to Po Town and you had to decide who to confront first - Kayli or Jackson.

You decided Damian's problems were more immediate. Damian said it didn't make him that uncomfortable but you figured mentioning it to Jackson might prevent future complications.

You found him behind the mansion, leaning against the wall, sucking on a vape pen.

Of fucking course he vaped.

You grinned and walked over to him. "Sup, Jackie?" He actually turned a little red at that, a first for him. He exhaled his vapor and put the pen away.

"Only Damie gets to call me Jackie."

"If you two get any gayer..." He grinned at you, proud of what a cute couple they were.

You joined him against the wall. "Hey I have something I need to talk to you about...About Damian.."

"What?" He turned to you sharply, causing you to jump. You didn't think you'd ever see Jackson with worry on his face but there it was. "Is he okay?"

"Yes yes he's fine, calm down. I'm sorry I scared you." Jackson took out his vape again and sucked hard on it. Boy, you didn't mean to stress him out that badly.

"So...what about Damian."

"Listen," you place a hand on his shoulder, looking at him seriously. "He said it wasn't really making him uncomfortable but you need to be aware of how out of place he feels when you drag him off during guard duty."

He blinked, trying to wrap his brain around what you said.

"He's not uncomfortable now but in the future just keep it in mind. Especially next time you decide to give him a hickey." You winked and nudged him gently with your elbow, grinning as his blush deepened, if only a little.

"Ah....heh. Yeah I'll definitely talk to him about it. Thanks bro."

"Of course, dude."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be a chapter about this in Bros when I get the chance to write it up!


	40. Gotcha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guzma likes your plugs and you talk with Kayli

You soon learned from Jackson that Kayli was out on more "Team Skull official business" - why didn't they just call it what it was - and that it would probably be nightfall before she was back.

So you let it go for now, instead walking off to find Guzma. You figured at this point of the day he'd be in his room but when you arrived said room was empty.

"Huh.." Was he also out on official business? You shrug and instead go to the kitchen, since it was already past twelve anyway.

What you didn't expect to find was Guzma crushing a bowlful of berries with his bare fists.

"Whoa whoa!" You rushed over and took the bowl from him. "What's the deal, man?" Guzma blinked in surprise and pointed dumbly at a recipe for spaghetti.

Oh. He was trying to cook.

You smiled at him and put the bowl to the side. "You don't crush berries with your fists."

"Yeah well..." And then he left it at that, not really having an excuse. Then he caught sight of your ears and if life were a cartoon you were sure steam would be coming out of his own ears. "Are those..."

You smiled at him and, taking a chance, batted your eyelashes. "You like them?"

"Hubuh..y-yeah, they look great babe." You snicker a little and start mashing new berries, making a note to thank Plumeria for insight on his apparent piercing fetish.

"Why were you trying to cook anyway?" You looked over after a moment of silence to see him looking at the floor, shrugging slightly. Oh. OH. He'd been trying to surprise you.

You smile and take his hand. "Here, why don't you help me."

Guzma hesitated for a moment, then gave that cocky grin you knew him for. "Course babe."

\---

"You know what's an underrated Pokemon?"

The girls looked up at you from your beds. Telly waved her hand wildly and bounced. "Oh oh! Is it Stunfisk?"

Casey shrugged and just threw out the first Pokemon she thought of. "Magikarp?"

You shook your head. "Nah, man. Trubbish." You saw Kayli look up out of the corner of your eye. Hook.

Telly wrinkled her nose. "I mean I guess...but isn't Trubbish kind of stinky?"

"S'not stink, it's character." You saw Kayli smile a bit this time. Line.

Casey scoffed and laid back down. "Whatever man, Trubbish isn't that great. It's just a bag that smells."

"Trubbish is a wonderful Pokemon.." You glanced at Kayli, who had dared to speak to the rest of you. Sinker.

Casey snorted and rolled over, cocooning herself in her blanket. "Of course you would say that, you're obsessed with the thing."

"They're very nice." Kayli said sharply. "And I would love to have one on my team."

"You know," you said, treading very carefully. You knew how Kayli could get. "If you want I could take you to get one."

Kayli's eyes snapped to you, making you jump a bit. 

You didn't dislike Kayli and you knew that day Guzma yelled at you she wasn't actually trying to be mean. She just had a blunt personality and wasn't great at talking to people. It made her a bit difficult to talk to but you still tried.

"I appreciate...the offer. But I'm planning on going with someone else." You wondered if that someone was Plumeria.

"I understand. Good luck on your Trubbish hunt, they're awesome Pokemon." You mentally whooped as she gave you the briefest of smiles.

"By the way are you allergic to lum berries?" She gave you a nervous look before nodding.

"Yeah, why?"

You quickly came up with the best excuse you could think of. "Uh, I'd just heard it around and I was planning on cooking with lum berries tomorrow. But if you're allergic I'll make something else."

She was quiet for a moment and you were worried she was suspicious, when she nodded again. "Thanks I appreciate it."

You thanked Dialga and Palkia above she bought it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeh


	41. Disturbance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You wake up to something loud
> 
> Warning: Alcoholism

You woke up in the middle of the night due to a crash from Guzma's room. You blinked blearily and sat up, trying to gather yourself, when you heard another. You bolted out of bed, suddenly awake and full of worry.

You dashed out of the room, not even bothering to grab your binder, and practically tripped up the steps. You made your way around the roof this time, not wanting to get your ass kicked by the chandelier again.

Making it to his door you open it without knocking, fearing the worst. And you find it.

Guzma, clad only in boxers, drunk as piss and laying in the floor with bottles scattered around his room. The laptop by his chair has fallen to the floor, screen cracked and black and he was grumbling about how much it's going to cost to replace that.

"GUSHMA, WHASH WRONG WIT' YOU?!"

You cautiously approach, unsure what he's like when he's drunk. An image of your stepfather's face flashed into your mind but you pushed it down, knowing Guzma needed you more than you needed to panic.

"Guzzie?" You mentally reprimand yourself for calling him that, knowing he was going to have something to say about it.

"Gushie?" He sat up and rubbed his head, and you figured the laptop must've fallen on it when he hit the floor. "Gushie, huh? Tha's cute." He grinned at you then and, just as quickly, broke down into tears.

"Guzma, what's wrong?" You kneel down beside him and wrapped an arm around him, tryin to pull him up.

He grasped you tightly and buried his face in your neck, sobbing loudly. You tried not to gag at the heavy scent of alcohol.

"Not'ins wrong, babe." He gripped your skull tank and refused to budge, so you sat there with him, figuring he needed a good long cry. "Jus' bein a piece'a shit ash ushual.."

You rubbed his back gently and tried to stop the tears from forming in your eyes, wondering what could've made him start drinking like this. "Guzma, I need you to get up for me, can you do that?"

He nodded stiffly and snorted, trying to stop crying. He hauled himself up and stumbled, and it was up to you to keep this giant man from falling again.

Harder than it sounded.

Eventually you both made it to the bed and he dragged you down with him, holding you tightly. He pressed his face into your hair and started crying again.

"Guzma, baby, shh.." You reached up and threaded your fingers through his hair, kissing his shoulder gently, but you froze when you heard what he was whispering into your hair.

"I love you, I love you, I love you..."

It took you a minute to process that, and you started to wonder if he meant that or if it was the alcohol talking, when he turned away and started coughing.

"Shhh, it's okay, I've got you.." You kept petting him and kissed his back gently, causing him to jump and shiver a little.

"Notta good idea righ' now babe.." Oh. Sensitive.

You felt your cheeks grow hot and stored that information for later, because now was not the time.

"Do you, ah.." You hesitated, a bit bashful. "Do you want me to sing to you..?"

He sniffed and glanced back at you. "Wha?"

"I could sing you a lullaby I learned growing up.." He seemed to think about this for a minute, then turned over and nodded.

You pressed your head against his chest again and took a deep breath, closing your eyes to try and shut out the embarrassment.

_"Evening is a little boy  
With dark wind ruffled hair  
Who skips the stars  
Like stones across the darkening part of hail"_

You heard a small sharp intake of breath above you and kissed his shoulder again, doing your best to comfort your large boyfriend.

_"Life will never stay  
The live will still come by  
And half a million stars  
You pin it to the sky  
And though you bind it with the blowing wind  
And buckle it with the moon  
But the night will slip away  
Like sorrow or a tomb"_

He let out one more soft sob, sniffling gently into your hair as his grip on you began to loosen.

_"The life is over with  
The stars will turn"_

You heard soft snoring and knew he'd fallen asleep. You smiled softly and closed your eyes, content to sleep in his strong arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song can be found here: https://youtu.be/AGih0fiqKpo


	42. Caring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You take care of your hungover disaster of a man
> 
> Warning: slight nsfw banter??

You woke up the next morning in Guzma's arms, silently chastising yourself for thinking it was a good idea to sleep with him. This was the second time.

Then again, you thought. He really needed me last night.

You shook him gently, only to be met with an annoyed groan and a wince. Hangover.

"Ugh, babe, don't do that..."

"Sorry," you whispered, petting his hair gently. "Do you want some water?"

"In a bit..." He rolled onto his back and put one of his arms over his eyes. You kiss his shoulder a few times, doing your best to comfort him, but with him in pain and the awkward silence between the both of you, you weren't sure what else you could do.

Finally he sighed and, wincing at the discomfort, he let go of you and sat up. The bags under his eyes were heavy and his eyes themselves were bloodshot, hair messier than usual and sticking to parts of his face with sweat.

"Sorry.." he croaked out.

"For what?"

"What do you mean for what?" He looked at you incredulously, as if you see out of your fucking mind. "For that! For last night!" He winced again and you patted his arm gently, staying silent.

"After all the trouble you had with an alcoholic, here you are dating one..." Your eyes hardened at that, mistaking what he was trying to say.

"So it's my fault?"

"What, no!" His face melted into one of despair, probably mentally kicking himself for being so bad at communicating. "It's my fault! I know what happened to you and I get piss ass drunk anyway!"

Your gaze softened and you felt foolish for jumping to conclusions. "We'll just...both have to get better, huh?"

He didn't say anything, too doubtful of himself to make you any promises and he stood up, rubbing his aching head. You got up as well and took his hand.

"Lets go get you that water, yeah?"

\---

After you got him water you led him to the bathroom and started a hot bath for him, figuring he needed to relax. He started to strip in front of you without a care and you turned away quickly, face reddening.

"At least give me a little warning!"

"Don't act like you don't wanna sneak a peek." Well! He certainly had the energy to joke, didn't he? Against your better judgement you do, in fact, sneak a peek, only to find he's turned away from you by then.

He had a really, REALLY nice ass.

You turned away again as he climbed into the water and you started for the door, when he stopped you.

"Stay with me?" Your heart almost broke at that, hearing him so vulnerable and quiet. So you nodded and sat on the floor by the tub, trying your best not to sneak any more peeks. Once again, it wasn't the time.

He snickered slightly, however, and leaned his head back. "Don't think I didn't see you lookin..."

You tried to play it cool. "What can I say, you've got a nice butt." 

You both went back and forth like that for a while, things slowly calming down and you thought maybe things were going back to normal.

He offered to send you a dick pic since you "liked his body so much."

Yeah, things were back to normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jazz fuckin hands


	43. Grounding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Big Sis is there for you
> 
> Warning: PTSD and mentions of alcohol

Neither of you spoke of the incident again, silently deciding that with the wounds so fresh maybe it would be better to talk about it later.

You didn't want to push him into telling you why he'd been drinking so heavily, but you were curious, so instead you went to Plumeria.

Besides, you had something to tell her anyway.

"He just does it sometimes," she explained, rolling up dough for yet another loaf of bread. She sure did like making bread. "He used to be a lot worse. Sometimes he doesn't even have a reason, he's an impulsive man. He does it if he feels like he needs to."

You just nodded sadly, understanding but not really wanting it to happen again. She gave you a pat on the shoulder, not really knowing what to say. So you dropped it. You'd talk to him about it later.

"By the way, I think I know who's been messaging you." Plumeria looked up in surprise, then just as quickly the look was gone. Probably trying to appear less excited than she was. You snickered.

"So? Who is it?" She looked back at the dough, pretending to knead when really it was fully kneaded.

"I think it's Kayli, one of my roommates." She glanced over at you, silently asking for your proof. "She's allergic to lum berries and she brutally shot down Casey to defend Trubbish so I think there's a safe bet that it's her."

She drummed her fingers against the convection oven, seeming to think about the information you'd provided. Then she looked at you again. "What should I do?"

"You're asking me?" You alight incredulously. "You know I danced around Guzma for like a month right?"

She sighed and nodded, pouring the dough into a pan. "I guess I'll just have to...talk to her about it then."

You hoped that would go well. They both had blunt personalities and you weren't sure if they could tolerate each other. But you kept your opinions to yourself.

You leaned against the wall quietly, trying to just watch Plumeria work and not get lost in your own thoughts. But, of course, it never quite works out that way does it? You found yourself wondering if he'd get drunk again. Wondering if there was anyway you could help. Wondering if he'd turn violent and-

You stopped yourself. Or you tried. But the last memories of your drunk stepfarther chasing you out of the house with a broken bottle kept resurfacing and you felt the wetness on your face before you realized you were crying.

You tried to be quiet about it, tried to keep your shoulders from shaking but the worry was just too much and you broke down into a fit of broken sobbing. You felt Plumeria's eyes on you and shame built up in your chest, causing you to cry louder and you put your face in you hands.

Suddenly you felt arms around you and Plumeria's hair tickling your cheek. "Shh..." you felt her rub your back and you wrapped your arms tightly around her, thanking her quietly in between sobs.

She smelled like ashes, hair dye, and nanab berries.

It was the most grounding scent you could've asked for.

\---

After you finally finished crying she served the bread and wrapped up some to go, taking you an island over for some Roserade Tea. You still loved Tapu Cocoa the best but the tea was a pleasant change of pace. You both ate at the counter quietly, both of you trying to relax.

Then you remembered something. "Hey Plume?"

"Mh?" She looked at you, mouth full. She was a lot less intimidating with crumbs on her face.

"Don't tell Guzma okay, I don't....think he remembers.." She just looked at you silently, waiting for you to go on. "He...he told me he loved me. When he was.."

She nodded and swallowed her food. "He's a fool. It's been, what, a month? How do you feel?"

You shook you head and sighed, glancing over to make sure nobody around could here you. "I don't...I don't love him yet. I care about him, a lot, but...it's too soon."

She nodded again, sipping her drink. "Again, he's a fool. Don't pay any mind to it okay?"

You nodded but inside you knew.

You were going to be thinking about this for a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some may have noticed chapters are slowing down. I'll probably only be able to get out 1 or 2 a day this week, work is gonna be hectic but I appreciate you guys being so patient with me!


	44. Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plumeria takes you on a much needed day out
> 
> Warning: transphobia

One more small embarrassing breakdown and another cup of tea later and you both exited the pokemon center, unsure what to do next. Or at least, you were unsure what to do next. Plumeria seemed to have an idea.

"You know what?" She suddenly put her arm around you and started walking.

"What?" You looked around. This wasn't the right direction. "The marina is-"

"I know where the marina is." She stopped in front of an apparel shop and grinned, big and genuine. "We've worked hard this week! Let's have a day out."

Her enthusiasm was infectious and you found yourself grinning just as wide, agreeing wholeheartedly.

A day out sounded nice.

\---

"We just got some new items in, as a matter of fact!" The saleswoman gestured to an aisle marked "new arrivals" and gave you her best customer service smile. Which you were sure was fake considering what team you were obviously apart of. "Please, take your time."

You winced a little at the edge in her voice, knowing that last line roughly translated to "but please, not too much time."

You and Plume browsed the aisle, making comments to each other about Kalosian and Unovan fashion and holding up things for the other to try on.

The saleswoman tried to be "helpful", throwing in her (unwanted) opinions about your choices.

"Oh don't you think that flannel is more of a man's shirt?"

"Wouldn't you rather have a skirt?"

"I have some nice dresses over here if you'd like to see them."

It wasn't that you hated those kinds of clothes. In fact you thought it was pretty ridiculous that clothes were gendered in the first place. They were just cloth. And you really did find some of those things cute.

You just hated that you were apparently expected to wear them. And you wore pants and tshirts so much that if you did decide to wear them you got called on it.

You remembered one time you decided to wear a simple skirt. Nothing fancy. Just a plain grey skirt that went down to your ankles, mostly because you just weren't feeling pants that particular day.

Your uncle had something to say about it, of course.

"Oh, are we a girl today?" You weren't sure if he was just joking or if he was really trying to be rude, but it was enough to make you go change and never wear another skirt in front of your family.

Or, you corrected yourself. My former family.

You sighed as the lady once again tried to convince you to buy a skirt. You wondered if it really bothered her that you wore pants or if it was because women's clothing was more expensive. Either way, you weren't having it.

And neither was Plumeria.

"Hey, back off. If he needs something he'll let you know!" She smirked as the woman blanched, shocked from either from Plumeria's voice or the discovery of you being trans.

It turned out to be the latter.

"He..you're.." She looked you up and down and sniffed haughtily, heading back to the counter.

"And good riddance!" Plumeria patted you on the back. "You okay?"

"Yeah." You sighed and continued looking. "You get used to it." She stayed quiet, not really having a response to that and you held up another shirt to break the silence.

"Too much?" The design was awful, a mixture of colors that clashed horribly, even by Team Skull standards.

"Definitely too much." You snickered and put it back.

At least she was here to keep you sane.

\---

An hour later, you'd just checked out and were about to leave when you spotted it. One mannequin, set apart from the others, with a hat and scarf proudly on display.

The design was definitely Sinnohian.

Your heart ached at the sight. Even if your family was awful you missed your home region dearly, missed that biting wind and cycling through Jubilife City. You missed snow..

You wanted the hat and scarf.

"Whatcha lookin at?" Plume followed your gaze to said items and frowned at the price. "That's a lot of pokedollars.."

She was right of course. A lot of pokedollars you didn't have. So you sighed and nodded, holding the door open for her.

"Maybe next time, okay man?" You gave her a small smile.

"Yeah, I'll just save for it."

You knew you'd never save that much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That uncle thing actually happened to me lmao it was awful


	45. Chance Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Perhaps you should stay out of malasada shops
> 
> Feat. Some Sinnoh headcanons

After shopping you both went to a malasada shop and sat, chatting and eating your bread. It was a nice change of scenery and you felt slightly bad for slacking on your duties but as long as Plumeria was with you nobody would give you a hard time.

Except maybe Guzma but it was all in good fun.

Plumeria bit into her malasada and hummed appreciatively, enjoying the sweetness. You'd opted for the spicy one, an acquired taste from days in Sinnoh where even the trickery of spice wasn't unwelcome in such cold weather. It wasn't real heat but it was something. 

It wasn't uncommon for Sinnohian people to carry around pocketfuls of cheri or figy berries, popping them into their mouths as they walked through Snowpoint. And just like any other Sinnoh native you were no different. Recalling the days before you came out, when you and the other kids would stuff your mouths full, seeing who could take the spiciness the longest. Losers had to lick a Snover.

"What are you thinking about so hard?" You blinked, looking at Plumeria, slowly processing what she said. Then you shrugged.

"Just seems like everything's reminding me of Sinnoh today."

"What do you mean?"

"The hat and scarf from the store were from Sinnoh." You gestured to your malasada. "Spicy food reminds me of there...I wonder if my pokemon would like poffins..."

"What the fuck is a poffin?"

You started to explain poffins and pokemon contests, when a familiar voice rang out at the counter.

"One big malasada, please!"

You froze, eyes locked on your bread as you tried not to make a sound. You didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

You knew it was Hau.

\---

You silently begged the lady not to give you away, hoping maybe he'd leave and you'd go unnoticed. But of course you weren't that lucky.

"Be careful, young man," the lady said, pointing over to your table. "Those Team Skull ruffians are here. I'd steer clear if I were you."

"Oh yeah?" You could practically feel his eyes snap to you and you thanked Arceus you had your back turned to him.

Plumeria just took another bite, probably used to it. She lifted her eyes to meet yours and you hoped she couldn't see the fear resting there. Her frown told you she could.

"You Team Skull punks are staying out of trouble right?" You didn't have to look up, you could hear the grin in his voice. Just as chipper as when you met him.

Plumeria flashed him a look and gestured to her malasada. "We're just here to eat."

He laughed a bit at that. "Alright, good, I didn't wanna have to battle you in a mala-" You flinched as he stopped short, hoping he didn't realize what you thought he'd realized.

"(Y/n)?"

You glanced up at him, heartbroken by the confused and betrayed expression on his face. An expression that didn't suit him.

"Hey, Hau." He looked at your uniform, then back to you, then to Plumeria and back again and you could see him battling with his emotions behind his eyes.

You felt guilty.

"Heh...guess you found where you belong, ey cousin?" He was uncharacteristic you quiet and you reached out a little.

"Hau, I-"

"Oh look my food's done." He walked back to the counter and you heard him quietly ask for a to-go bag, so you looked back at your half eaten malasada and stayed quiet.

Plumeria reached out to touch you, but then thought twice and retracted her hand.

You needed a nap.


	46. To Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plumeria let's you in on a dream of hers

You knew word had gotten back to Kukui when your dex blew up with 20 new messages, all within 3 seconds of each other. You still refused to look at them. You still couldn't bear the thought of disappointing him of all people.

Plumeria led you to the marina and you both boarded, each of you a little more put out than when you started your day out.

"Sorry our adventure was a bust." You glanced at her and gave a small smile.

"I appreciate that you tried. Maybe we can try again sometime." She nodded and leaned against the railing, looking over the ocean.

"I've always wondered what it'd be like to travel far away."

"You don't like Alola?" She snorted and shook her head.

"It's not that. It's just Alola's all I've known. I wanted to travel, to do things with my life. I wanted to visit Unova and Hoenn and all sorts of places." She sighed and looked at you. "Instead I got a job at a body shop and dated my boss's daughter, only to be fired and thrown into the street when he found out about it."

You frowned at that. "I'm sorry.."

"It was my own fault for being careless. And for not seeing how awful she really was. After he fired me I begged her to talk to him, told her I couldn't get a job anywhere else but she stuck her nose up at me, instead deciding to stay on her daddy's good side." She scoffed and brought out a pack of cigarettes. 

"I didn't know you smoked."

"I don't usually." She lit it up and put it to her lips, taking a long drag. She turned away from you and exhaled the smoke. "S'not that I don't like Team Skull. It's just...I guess I imagined more in my life than this." You nodded and sighed.

You understood.

"One day I'm gonna go out there, (Y/n). I'm gonna cross every ocean." You smiled. It was a nice thought.

"Maybe me and Guzma will go with you." It was her turn to smile, putting out her cig on the railing and slipping it back into the pack.

"I'd like that."

\---

Guzma sighed and rubbed his hands over his face, then rolled himself into a blanket cocoon of self pity.

He was the worst.

Getting drunk like that? What was he thinking? He knew you had issues with your stepfather. He should've known better than to bring alcohol into this but he went and did it anyway. All over a nightmare.

He'd woken up in a cold, terrified sweat that night. His mother's disappointed eyes burned his brain and your strangled cries as his father throttled you were deafening to his ears.

He couldn't deal with it so he drank. And drank. And drank, until he could barely walk. He didn't want you to get involved but then he'd fallen like a clumsy fool. And of course you'd heard it.

He pressed a hand to his forehead where the laptop had fallen and winced, somewhat at the pain but mostly at the fact that he was going to have to get that replaced.

And then he'd told you he'd loved you.

He was an idiot. A fucking fool. Did he love you? He wasn't even sure of that and yet he'd said it anyway.

And you hadn't mentioned it. Which was disappointing but a relief at the same time. He didn't want to have that conversation right now. But he wanted to know what you thought about it. How you felt...

It was unfair that he said it. Unfair that he'd put that on you and now all he could do was hope things wouldn't be awkward.

Even though, undoubtedly, it would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The angst will be back in full blast in a few chapters hold onto your kleenex


	47. Winding Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You try to get your mind off of things
> 
> Warning: butts

Plumeria excused you from work for the rest of the afternoon so you turned into bed early, falling asleep almost instantly from emotional exhaustion.

When you woke next it was barely dawn. Dawn. Wasn't that the name of the kid who'd...

You groaned and sat up. It was too early to be thinking about Sinnoh. You'd been thinking about it too much lately and so you decided today you were going to distract yourself.

You stood and dressed quickly, heading out of the room to find Jackson and Damian.

\---

"Now bring ya hips down, cuz!"

You and Damian danced along to the music pouring out of his dex, Jackson leaning against the wall as usual, his head bobbing as the only effort he made.

You'd surprised yourself, really. You hadn't expected to be any good at dancing. But Damian was so fun and such a good teacher that you found yourself getting better and better.

"Yeah yeah, that's it! You got it!" You grinned and stomped your foot down to the beat, ignoring the now familiar chill of mud splashing up onto your pants. This was exactly the kind of distraction you needed.

You could always trust these guys to help you unwind.

You both slowed to a stop as the song ended and Jackson clapped lazily, grinning at you. "Looked like you were havin fun."

"I gotta admit it's a lot more enjoyable when I know what I'm doing." You snickered and leaned against the wall, panting. It was fun but it sure was tiring.

"That was sick, cuz!" Damian gave you a high five and whooped, and you looked up just in time to see Jackson giving him brief goo goo eyes. You snickered again and elbowed him gently. He just elbowed you back and smirked.

"Oh you have no reason to be teasin me. Not with the way you eye up the boss when he comes around."

"What, I do not!" You felt your cheeks reddening and you wished you weren't so easy to read.

"Practically undress him with your eyes all the ti-fuck!" You shoved mud in his face, being careful not to get any in his eyes and then you started to run, knowing a battle would soon be on your hands. 

Jackson wiped his face off and scooped up some mud. "Just you wait til I catch you!"

You looked back just in time to see Damian shove mud in Jackson's face as well and you laughed harder than you had in days.

\---

When you came in you were drenched head to toe in mud, grinning widely and dripping all over the floor.

"What the fuck happened to you?" You looked up to see Guzma jump right over the stairway railing and land on his feet 10 feet away.

"You gotta stop doing that, I'm gonna have a heart attack." He grinned and looked you over.

"So uh...you fall or.." You shook your head.

"Mud battle." He rolled his eyes and took your hand, starting to lead you upstairs.

"Always slackin off." He snickered a little at your pout.

"That's not fair, you slack off more than anybody! Except maybe Jackson." You both agreed nobody could beat Jackson.

You realized he was leading you to the bathroom and you nudged him teasingly. "Gonna keep me company while I bathe?"

"Gotta return the favor right?" He gave you a cocky grin and you almost gulped comically. He must've seen you were nervous because he quickly backpedaled. "I mean if you want. I was teasin."

"Sure!" You blurred without thinking, then backpedaled a little yourself. "If that's okay. And no peeking." You just really didn't want him to leave.

"You peeked at me!"

"I only saw your butt!" You put a hand over your mouth as a couple of grunts downstairs snickered at you. You quickly entered the bathroom.

"Then by all fairness I get to see your butt." You summoned your pokemon and started drawing your bath, then turned to him.

"You'd better not." You threatened playfully, knowing full well he would anyway.

Your breath hitched a bit as he closed the distance between you, putting his arms around your waist. "Or what?"

"Or..." You drew a blank, your mind going numb as he leaned down for a kiss. You wrapped your arms around his neck loosely, humming against his wonderful lips.

You gasped softly as he pulled away, teeth tugging gently at your bottom lip. He grinned at you. "Your bath is ready."

You glanced behind you at Celia and Ahi. Celia blurbed at you disapprovingly while Ahi smirked. Oh good god. You quickly broke away from him and called your pokemon back, putting the pokeballs back into your pocket.

You sighed and made a twirling motion with your finger. "Turn."

He sighed in mock exasperation and turned around, making a show of putting his hands over his eyes. You turned around just in case, so if he did peek all he would see really would be your ass.

You quickly stripped and were pulling off your boxers, when you heard him whistle behind you. Your face turned a bright red and you huffed. "I told you not to peek!"

"I didn't promise nothin." Cheeky bastard.

You stepped into the tub and sank into he water. "Alright, I'm in."

He turned and sat by the tub like you had, reaching out to run his fingers through your hair. Truth be told you hadn't thought this through, and you were desperately trying to appear less nervous than you felt.

Apparently it didn't work.

"I can leave if yo-"

"No!" You curse yourself for your needy tone. "I just...I've had a shitty day. I don't want to be alone."

He nodded and continued to stroke your hair as you told him about the rude saleswoman and Hau, about the resurfacing memories of Sinnoh. 

"I'm sorry you had a shit day babe.." You closed your eyes and enjoyed the feeling of his fingers working their way through your hair, his hand pausing to scratch gently at the base of your neck and you let out a small whine. Your eyes snapped open and you blushed at his raised eyebrow.

"Anyway..." You wanted to push that incident as far away from you as possible. "How has your day been?"

"Oh same old same old.." You listened as he described "this crazy ass Ratatta" that had snuck its way into the mansion and you were content knowing things were going to be okay between you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Issues and angst come back next chapter bc I can leave it alone lmao


	48. Unexpected and Unwelcome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wow what's this?????? A chapter??? Haha how long has it been
> 
> Uploading schedule is probably going to be kind of hectic. I'm getting my life back in order slowly but surely and I really appreciate all the wonderful support you guys have given me. Thank you so much.
> 
> Warnings for this chapter: casual transphobia

You got dressed and left the bathroom, Guzma trailing close behind you. You'd needed that little rest and you both started to head from his room when frantic yelling was heard from the courtyard.

Guzma jumped over the railing and ran outside, leaving you to take the safer (if only slightly) route down the stairs. You ran to the door as fast as you could, nearly slipping on all the mud that had been tracked in, and made your way out as well.

A man stood by the door. Grey hair, bored, almost sunken eyes. He looked like he'd rather be anywhere but here. You felt like you'd seen him around but you couldn't place his name. A meowth stood by his leg, holding a pen and notepad rather impressively with its paws.

He looked right at you with his hard eyes.

"(D/n) (L/n)."

You shrank behind Guzma, who bent down to get in the man's face. You could practically feel him seething. "His name is (Y/n)."

The man looked unphased, instead looking back at you with the same cold expression. "I'm Officer Nanu. Been told you went missing and it's my job to investigate."

You swallowed and summoned up your courage. "I'm a grown man, I can go missing wherever I please."

He didn't even blink. "Right. Problem is the picture that was provided matches the picture of another missing persons case. From Sinnoh."

You blanched, gripping Guzma's jacket in fear. Nanu continued. "If we want these cases put to rest we need you to come to the station so we can get word to Sinnoh and tell your folks you're alright."

You shook your head frantically. This wasn't at all what you wanted. You came here to get away from them. "I don't want them knowing where I am."

"That may be so but legally I have to report this."

Guzma's patience was getting shorter by the second. "Legally you can step the fuck off."

"Legally you shouldn't even be here, so don't try me." Nanu locked eyes with your boyfriend, both seemingly having a battle of wills to get the other to step down. "I just need her to sign a few things."

" _He_ won't be going anywhere he doesn't want to." You glanced down at the meowth, who was scribbling furiously, apparently writing down the entire event.

"Regardless, it's going to be reported. It'd just be easier for me if you came down to sign the papers." He turned and took the notepad from the meowth, looking over the writing. He turned it over to show it to the creature, the entire thing in awful illegible scribbles. "I can't read this." 

The meowth just blinked at him boredly, having done its job the best it could.

Nanu turned away from the both of you and started walking away. "Think about stopping by, I'm just outside Po Town."

You had no intention of leaving for a while.

\---

You laid in Guzma's arms, sobbing into his chest and hiccuping from how short your breath was coming.

"They aren't gonna take you away babe.."

"I know," you pressed your face further into him, trying to stop your tears. "I just don't want them to know where I am. Even the thought of it makes me sick."

He rubbed your back with one hand and ran his fingers through your hair with the other, sighing. "I know. I know this sucks."

At least he wasn't trying to sugar coat it. You were sure if he'd tried it would've just made it worse.

You eventually cried yourself out, nothing more emerging from you except the occasional exhausted hiccup and sniffle.

"I'll protect you." He held you tighter and pressed his face into your hair. "Hell, we'll all protect you."

You sighed and wiped your nose on your wrist, too deep in your depression to think about how gross you must look.

"I know."


	49. Episodic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is EXTREMELY uncomfortable and kind of like,,,vent I suppose
> 
> WARNING: PTSD, going into an episode, anger, asking to be beaten
> 
> Please turn back now if you aren't ready for that, thank you.

The next few days for you were extremely rough.

You refused to come out of your room, instead opting to try and sleep the entire time. You didn't want to be awake for this, this constant barrage of fear and self pity. You just wanted to sleep, wanted to keep your mind off your parents as long as possible.

Your roommates tried to persuade you to leave, tried to convince you that shutting yourself away wasn't going to help anything but you didn't care. You knew that. You were a grown man, you figured. You could be depressed and self destructive if you wanted. You barely ate anything of the meals they brought you, which you guessed Plumeria had to take over with since you obviously weren't cooking. You felt a twinge of guilt at that but still you laid there, unable or unwilling to get up. Honesty you couldn't even tell which anymore.

Finally Guzma had had enough.

You lifted your head sluggishly as he kicked the door open, eyes filled with anger that quickly vanished when he saw the state you were in. Pity, sorrow, and guilt seemed to replace it.

Disgusting.

"Don't look at me like that." You rolled over and tugged the blanket over your head. He scoffed and strode inside.

"Like what?"

"Like I'm a dying pokemon or something. Like I need pity. Or...even deserve it."

You flinched as the covers were snatched off, but you didn't even put up a fight as he lifted you, sitting heavily on the bed and cradling you as if you were fragile.

You supposed you kind of were.

"Then stop acting like one." He pressed his forehead to yours and you blinked as you felt something wet hit your cheek. Was he crying?

"Stop acting like you've given up. I know this fucking sucks but you can't just let yourself waste away like this. It's been three days and I bet if I just left you you'd try and stay in here forever wouldn't you?"

You didn't respond, instead your lip twitching and your eyes squinting as you tried not to break down. You didn't want to break down.

You wanted to get angry.

"You say that like it's so fucking easy." You snapped. Why were you doing this? What was wrong with you? "Big bad Guzma, just punching his way through his problems, smashing those who get in his way."

He leaned back to look at you with a hard glare. "Watch yourself."

"Or what, you're gonna hit me?" You should've stopped but you couldn't, twenty-one years of pent up ptsd rushing out of you at once. "Go ahead, I fucking deserve it. Listen to how I'm talking to you, how I'm backtalking. Don't I just deserve a good smack across the face."

He was trembling now, his teeth and fists clenched as he stared down at you, unsure of what do to. "Stop it."

"You want to, don't you? I'm making you angry. You might as well get a head start on beating me before my stepfather gets ahold of me." You snapped your mouth shut and stared back at him, honesty shocked at yourself.

Tears were flowing freely down his cheeks then and he stood up, carefully setting you on the bed.

"Guzma, I didn't-"

"I need a minute." He glanced at you before turning sharply, leaving the room with a loud slam of the door.

You couldn't remember the last time you'd cried so hard.

\---

He came back twenty minutes later to find you with your knees drawn up to your face and your arms wrapped around your legs, sobbing loudly. You felt his arms around you before you'd even registered he'd entered the room.

"Sorry for leavin, I just.." 

You leaned into him heavily, finally giving up. "I'm so sorry.. I just- I'm fucking-"

"Be quiet." He rested his chin on your head and sighed tiredly, letting you cry for a while.

Eventually you stopped crying, instead just sitting there with your knees still digging into your eyes.

"When's the last time you ate?"

You shrugged slightly and gave a soft sob when he pulled away.

"It's ok, I'm here I'm just...messaging Plume to make us something." You nodded at that and looked up at him, wondering if you looked as drained as you felt.

"I'm really sorry..I don't know why I said those things.." He glanced at you for a moment, then looked back at his dex.

"You don't..you can't just..."

"I know, I'm sorry..." 

He sighed and snapped it shut, finally looking at you instead of just giving you the side eye. "I do the...same. It's not like I haven't had episodes."

"But I shouldn't have-"

"No you shouldn't have but I don't have any right to judge you for it." He put an arm around you and sighed again. "We'll just...have to work on it I guess."

You couldn't help but smile a little. "That's really reassuring, Guzma."

"What can I say, I'm the best at pep talks."

You pressed your face into his chest and finally relaxed, wondering if you were ever really going to get over this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again before you ask, I'm fine. Memories and bad experiences just resurface sometimes and I have to get them out somehow


	50. Relax

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You try to get some rest
> 
> Warning for this chapter: Guzma pinches your butt, you discover a kink, nothing explicit happens

Plumeria brought you both soup about ten minutes later. You were grateful for that, after three days of eating practically nothing it was probably wise to start with something easy on your stomach.

"Thanks Plume," you managed to croak out before you began drinking it straight from the bowl. She nodded and ruffled your hair gently, quietly slipping out of the room once more.

You and Guzma sipped your soup in silence for a while, before finally you couldn't take it anymore.

"You're mad at me." You stated.

"Yes."

"I'm sorry." He sighed and finished off his soup.

"I know. I forgive you." He fiddled with his spoon a bit. "That doesn't mean I'm not mad. Or worried."

You nodded and set your half finished soup on the floor, only for Guzma to lean down and pick it up, handing it to you again. "All of it."

You sighed and continued sipping it, glaring at the far wall as if it had just killed your Growlithe or something. 

"How can I...how can I fix this? How do I make this up to you?"

He didn't answer for a good solid three minutes, instead staring into his bowl like it would provide him some sort of answer. Eventually he gave up and put the bowl down.

"I don't know, maybe come out of your room? At least stay in my room, I don't want you in here by yourself."

"I'm not a child.."

"I had to mother hen you just to get you to eat." He flicked your nose gently, trying to lighten the mood. "You're a big fuckin baby."

You tried to look mad, tried to scowl at him but soft giggle broke through and he grinned. That was all it took for you to start laughing and you pressed your face into his side.

It was going to be alright. You could both handle this.

\---

"So I'm grounded to your room?"

"Yep." 

You huffed as he sat you down on his bed. This was a little much.

You should tell him that.

"This is a little much." He snorted at you and plopped back onto his bed.

"Just enjoy the day off, try to relax." He grinned and pinched your ass gently, causing you to yelp and jump up. "You're all pent up."

You turned to glare at him, only to have your face soften immediately. You could see the worry on his face, even if he tried to cover it up. He'd shown more kindness today than you'd expected and you sighed. He was just concerned, he cared about you. In his own weird way.

You laid next to him and cuddled up to his chest, closing your eyes. You had to enjoy this, try to squeeze some happiness out of this awful week.

"Alright...I'll try to relax."

"Good boy." You squirmed a bit, trying to squash the embarrassment and newfound interest in the endearment. Now wasn't the time for that. You were sure he could feel how hot your face was.

He snickered. "What was that?"

"What was what?" You hoped you sounded more convincing than you thought you did.

"Nothing...we can talk about that later."

Dear Palkia, no.

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about." You yawned, exhausted from the amount of emotional outbursts you'd had that day.

"Sure babe. Get some sleep."

You didn't have to be told twice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear fucking god I'm so sorry I was gone so lobg


	51. Gifts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guzma cheers you up

When you woke up next you felt awful. Dehydration from crying and 3 days with minimal food left you with a pounding headache and an upset stomach.

You groaned pitifully, feeling around for Guzma only to find he wasn't in the bed.

You could hear him shuffling across the room, not opening your eyes under the impression he was changing clothes.

You groaned again, hoping for attention.

"Mhm, bet you won't pull that shit again." Okay well that was better than nothing.

"Just take me outside and end me." You rubbed your face tiredly, already regretting waking up. "Or better yet just tell Ahi it's okay to sleep on my face. That sounds like the easier and fluffier way to go."

"Does he actually try that?" You felt him sit on the bed and peeked out at him. Dressed, thank Palkia.

"I don't think he knows he's not a Litten anymore."

Guzma snickered and stroked your hair gently, doing his best to comfort you. "You need to get out today. Maybe some fresh air will do you good. I'll let you hold off on work til tomorrow."

You nodded, immediately regretting your decision as your headache flared. You gave a pitiful, pained huff and put your arm over your eyes.

"Let's get you hydrated first though."

\---

Guzma took you on a much needed day out, making sure you sipped water the whole time.

What was he, your mom?

Still, now that your head was clearer you really did appreciate it. It was nice to know he cared so much. 

To your surprise he stopped you at an apparel shop. The same one Plumeria took you to before.

"Wait here." He patted you on the shoulder and headed inside, leaving you to wonder what he could possibly be up to.

He returned a few minutes later with a bag and thrusted it awkwardly in your direction. "Here, Plume told me....well I know you've been wanting these so.."

You took it from him gently. He couldn't have. He wouldn't. You looked into the bag and confirmed your suspicions, a soft pleased gasp escaping you before you could stop it.

You pulled out the Sinnohian hat and scarf. The same ones you wanted last time.

"Guzma this...these were so expensive, are you sure..?"

"S'already done, no take backs." You gave him an unsure look and he sighed. "Just put em on."

You gently took them out of the bag, placing the hat neatly on your head and wrapping the scarf around your neck. "How do..how do I look?"

"Adorable." Before you could protest Guzma whipped out his dex and took a photo. "Lockscreen material."

You huffed and weakly made grabby hands for the dex, your cheeks burning. He just grinned and put it away, sticking his tongue out at your purposefully feeble attempts.

You catch your hand in his, smiling up at him shyly. "Thank you."

The blush that spread across his face brightened up your day better than anything else possibly could've.

"No prob.."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I haven't been dead, just resting
> 
> I kno it's been forever

**Author's Note:**

> Posting two chapters to start with. Fic will probably update infrequently but I'll try to get at least one chapter out a week.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Sinnoh Is My Home](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8788264) by [Judithan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Judithan/pseuds/Judithan)




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